


GH-325

by Skyson



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Aliens, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Experiments, F/M, GH-325, Gen, Head-Canon, Reality vs. Side-Effect, Research, mystery drug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-28
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-19 03:14:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 68,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2372492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyson/pseuds/Skyson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A look at the idea of Coulson and Skye discovering side-effects from their shared life-saving serum. A bit of canon, a bit of my theories on where canon is headed, and a bit of faces smashing together. Okay, a lot of faces smashing together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first Coulson/Skye fic; beginning mid-end-season 1, right after Coulson rescues Skye and the team is staying at the motel. It references things that have happened in the show since then, but it's mostly a deviation from canon. It will very likely have very little if any similarities to the second season, simply because the first many chapters were written before season 2 began.
> 
> The writers of SHIELD have so many possibilities with the serum and the mysterious language, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy my interpretation of it.

* * *

 

"Hey, Coulson?" Skye called out when she saw him walk by the open door of her motel room. It was early morning; Trip was swimming laps in the pool, and Coulson was the only other person she has seen awake so far.

"Yes, Skye?" Coulson said, leaning against the door jamb. He sounded as tired as she felt. She patted the bed next to her, where she was currently sitting cross-legged with a laptop in her lap.

Coulson entered the room and, when she asked, shut the door behind him without question.

"I want to show you something..." Skye brought up a couple windows on the computer as he carefully sat on the edge of the bed. For one worried moment, he thought of the video that May had shown him last night.

_I should tell Skye._ It wasn't the first time he's had that thought.

"What is it?" He asked, catching her careful tone. She was unsure how he was going to take it, whatever it was, and she was worried. He turned a little and leaned over as she rotated the computer so the both of them could look at it.

"It's data... Saved video feed from Simmons' studies she'd been running... On us." Skye told him, and he looked at her quickly.

"The data was on the hard drive," he said, and Skye shook her head sadly.

"They've still got everything," She sounded apologetic, "But while I was attempting to stall Ward at the diner and get away, I sent full copies of _our_ data to an encrypted site only I can access." Coulson gave her a dubious look.

"Not that I don't trust your computer skills, Skye, but I know there are other hackers in the world; people who can find _anything_ once it's been put online - no matter the source."

Skye grinned at him, tilting her head sideways.

"Coulson, I hacked into a Level Eight secure file in under two minutes. I managed to find you when no one else knew where to start - _with_ that dumb bracelet on." She reminded him, and he gave her a grateful smirk.

"You've got a point," he conceded. He shifted a little more so that he could see the screen more clearly. "So what are we looking at?" He asked. The windows that were open both played a video feed that appeared to be looking through the lens of a microscope.

"Live cultures. Samples of blood." Skye said, and Coulson raised his eyebrow as he watched the substance slide around the screen.

"This is still a rather broad view... Why am I seeing it move like that? Shouldn't we only see that on a molecular level?" Coulson asked, leaning in. Skye raised her eyebrow for a different reason than he had.

"You've been paying attention to Simmons' ramblings!" She teased, and he glanced toward her to grin at her.

"I passed biology class." He replied. She chuckled, then answered his question seriously,

"You are right. Blood does not normally do this."

"The coloring seems normal. You said it was yours?" He asked, and she simply gestured toward the screen.

Coulson frowned as he looked between the two.

"They look exactly the same." He focused his eyes on her. "I'm not seeing something." He acknowledged, seeing her serious facial expression.

"Any blood sample would look pretty much the same at this level, except perhaps the Hulk's," Skye told him, "I mean, observe what it's doing. Describe it."

He raised his eyebrow toward her.

"I think we've _both_ been spending too much time with Simmons." He said, and because Skye didn't smile, he turned his attention to the computer once more. "Okay... They appear to be..." He watched closely, frowning. "That's more than just random swimming around in solution. It's practically... Alive." He looked up at her, and judging from her expression he knew that he was on the right track. "More so than the regular way blood is alive, I mean," he added, and she nodded, urging him on. He looked back to the screen. "Well, they seem to be almost... Pulling toward one another? But this is just video feed - "

"The windows are set up exactly how Simmons had the microscopes set up in the lab. Side by side."

"So... Perhaps the blood is... Wanting to reunite? Regenerate, in a way? That's already a known side-effect of the serum." Coulson sighed. "I don't really know, Skye, I'm not a scientist, I just try to pay attention and follow along."

"You are right," Skye told him, "it is trying to reunite. But..." She trailed off, and he turned his attention away from the screen and fully on her. "Coulson, those are two different blood samples." Skye admitted, looking up at him, something akin to anguish on her face, which alarmed him.

"From different times?"

"From different people."

Coulson stared at her a moment, understanding dawning. He looked back to the screen.

"One of those is mine."


	2. Chapter 2

_"One of those is mine."_

He watched the two samples of blood swimming around in solution, as if in search for something. If the two samples happened to reach the sides of their petri dishes closest to one another at the same time, they pressed against the wall with urgency. As if discovering it wouldn't work, after a few moments, the random swimming would continue.

Coulson looked back up to Skye, his brow furrowed again.

"I'm assuming this has something to do with the serum." He said, and she nodded. "Does Simmons know what it means?" He asked, and Skye shrugged.

"She says we could be housing some sort of DNA or blood or  _something_ from the same alien, and it wants to reunite with itself when it finds bits of it not together... Or..."

Coulson raised his eyebrow, and she looked somewhere over his shoulder.

"Or we could have pieces from two  _different_ aliens inside of us. Aliens that were... Bonded... In some way." She finished lamely, and Coulson blinked.

"What I found down in that bunker," He said after a careful moment of silence, "When I found the source... There was only one." But his eyes looked unsure, and she could see it.

"But it explains so much," Skye said quietly, looking at him earnestly, and he inwardly agreed with her, but tried to keep his face stoic.

They'd always cared about one another, they knew that since almost the very beginning. They had a great, albeit sometimes frustrating, working relationship. She was like his protege, except more than that - she wasn't just one of the members of his team.

But then she got shot, she was given the same serum he had (or close enough to it), and he spent days watching over her until she woke up. (She didn't know about that part, though Simmons did.) She was threatened by the Clairvoyant (turned out to be an imposter, but Coulson didn't like the threat, nonetheless), then kidnapped by Ward, threatened and attacked by Deathlok... He had not slept until she had been rescued from that plane. And he had refused to do anything else other than go in and save her on his own - much to the dismay of both Agent May and Agent Triplett.

And he had saved her. They didn't get hurt (too much), and they were currently off the grid, momentarily safe. He had been so happy that she was still alive. It had surprised him; the amount of relief he felt when he had first caught sight of her in the Bus. And then splitting his candy bar with her as they chatted by the pool the night before, without any prior thought. Sitting with her, making sure she was doing okay, leaving FitzSimmons to their own devices. Not that he didn't care about  _them_ , on the contrary, but... It certainly wasn't the same, and he knew that it hadn't been since Skye had woken up in that hospital bed.

"Coulson, look at us." Skye said incredulously, closing the laptop and setting it off to the side. "Here we are, in some rather seedy motel room, sitting next to one another on the bed, at five o'clock in the morning. The door is closed, Triplett probably saw you come in here, but have either of us stopped to think about the implications?"

Realizing she was right, Coulson stood and stepped toward the door.

"I'm sorry, Skye, if you're uncomfortable - "

"I'm certainly not uncomfortable because of  _those_ things," Skye assured him, getting up and moving toward him.

"I didn't mean - " He sounded like he was apologizing, and she interrupted him again.

"You feel it too, don't you?" She half-questioned. He looked her in the eyes, his face stoic again. That was telling enough in its own way.

Yes. He felt it too. Particularly now, which was why it would be a really good idea for him to leave the room.

"I should - "

"What would happen if we were to - "

"What?" He frowned, half frustrated that she kept interrupting him, half not wanting her to finish that sentence. She was looking at him, but also through him. She was mulling over something, and each passing second made him feel more and more the urge to leave, and more and more the urge  _not_ to leave.

"We should kiss." She said, shrugging as if it was no big deal.

_Big deal._

"What?!" He demanded, giving her his warning look.

"Scientific experiment," She continued, still standing there appraising him, and not in the 'I'm checking you out' sort of appraising.

"Skye, this is inappropriate," He began, and she scoffed.

"What is  _inappropriate_ ," she mocked his tone, "is completely ignoring whatever it is that this stupid serum is doing to us!" She took a step closer to him as she argued. "We've handled it fine, so far. Sure. But one of these days, it might get worse. It might get... impatient. What if we're on the Bus when that happens? What if we're on  _an op_ when that happens?"

"You say 'when' as if - "

"You feel it too." She reminded him, standing there in front of him, less than an arm's length away, staring him directly in the eyes.

Yes. He felt it too. And that frustrated him, though when she took a half step closer, he didn't step away.

She stood on her toes, holding lightly onto his arms to steady herself, and he didn't push her away. She moved slowly, very slowly, and when he felt her breath against his lips, he flinched his head back slightly. She paused, waiting for him to pull away, but he didn't. They continued to look one another in the eyes, until she touched her lips against his. Her eyes closed, his stayed open. She didn't push, she simply rested her lips there. Firmly, so that he was  _aware_ that this was actually happening, but waiting for him to decide what to do about it.

She shifted a little, dropping her heels down to stand more firmly on the ground. He didn't make a conscious decision before moving his lips against hers, pressing back just a little. She hesitated a moment, and when he still didn't pull away, she responded with a little movement of her own. He leaned his head to the side, deepening the kiss, closing his eyes, and then they were both breathing a little heavily and moving their mouths together in earnest. He began to lean into her, over her a little bit, pressing his upper body against hers even more firmly.

There was a knock on the door, and they pulled away with sharp intakes of breath, staring at one another with wide eyes. Coulson's mouth was open a little, as if he was shocked.

_He probably was - she certainly was; wow who knew he could kiss like_  _that?_

"Just a minute," Coulson called out, sounding surprisingly relaxed. Skye was afraid to try her voice at the moment. They stared at one another, both still very keen of the feeling of the other's lips, and they leaned in again at the same time. This kiss was solid, hard, and not as long-lived. Coulson pulled back and moved to the door, running his hand across his hair before pulling the door open.

Skye moved quickly toward her computer, focusing on putting it on the desk and using that time to school her features.

_That was... odd._ The constant pull toward him was diminished, though, so maybe they were on to something.  _Perhaps the species is just big on physical touch. Maybe it's just their love language, or whatever._ She refused to think anything about mating rituals.

_You've got to be kidding me. I mean, AC is awesome, sure. And I certainly wouldn't mind kissing him again -_ Skye shook her head.

She'd always found Coulson attractive in that man-in-a-suit, sure-of-himself, he-can-also-kick-ass sort of way. And his eyes were fascinating, really. But this... this sudden  _need_ to be around him, to seek out his face in a crowd, to check up on him after an op - it was a little overwhelming. And she was honestly getting a little frustrated with all the innocent little touches, all the times she caught him staring at her with  _that look_.

'Course, he'd caught  _her_ giving him that same look, too.

Skye sighed.  _How much of this is us, and how much of it is that serum?_ She had no idea. It was hard to differentiate.

"Coulson," May greeted at the door, leaning her head to the side and seeing Skye. "Sorry," May said, looking back to Coulson, "I didn't know you were debriefing already."

Skye sucked in a strangled breath, suddenly very focused on her laptop again.


	3. Chapter 3

"It's okay, May." Coulson betrayed nothing. "We were just finishing up. What do you need?"  


Skye thought that perhaps May looked suspicious, but then again, May always looked suspicious. _Why is A.C. so cool? How the hell can he play it so cool all the time? It's hell trying to hide all of this from him, from the rest of the team... Am I the only one really affected by this serum?_ Skye wondered a lot of things, but that kiss made her think that she was probably wrong about being the only one affected.  


"I'm headed out to get supplies. Any requests?" May asked calmly, almost as if she had _expected_ to find the two of them in a room together.  


"I could really use a change of clothes..." Skye admitted. She hadn't realized, until she was in proximity to Coulson, that she still smelled very much like _Ward_ , from all those times he randomly grabbed her, hugging her, kissing her. Skye shuddered, and May seemed to understand.  


"I could too, actually," Coulson admittedly sadly, "A suit isn't very conducive to laying low." May nodded.  


"Change of clothes for both of you. Got it." She said. "I'm taking one of the Night-Night guns with me. If I'm not back in two hours, get out of here and head to the next destination."  


"I've been on the run before, May." Coulson gently reminded her. "I've just never been _homeless_ before…"  


"I can help with that," Skye piped up, and they smirked at each other. May raised her eyebrow as she looked at them, put her hand on Coulson's arm to get his attention again, and gave him a serious look.  


_Tell her._   


May walked away, and Coulson sighed heavily, running his hand across his face. He was still scruffy, and he was about to call after May to ask for a shaving kit when Skye was the one to put her hand on his arm.  


"You should probably leave it," She said quietly, and he looked down at her, realizing she was right. "We're in this together," She reminded him with a small smile, and his smile in return was sad.  
 

"It's my turn to show you something," He said, his voice sounding heavier than she had ever heard before. "Come with me," He rested his hand on her shoulder, leading her to his room. His laptop was sitting open on his table, the large LEVEL TEN ACCESS ONLY bright across the screen.  


"What is this?" Skye asked, and he felt her tense. He pulled his hand away from her.  


"Before I play this, Skye, I want you to know that I don't remember any of this. This is entirely new to me." He was pleading with her, and she have him a worried look. She reached up and placed her palm against his scruffy cheek.  


Someday, when all hell was not breaking out, she would tell him that she liked his five o’clock shadow look.  


"I trust you, A.C," She promised him softly, but the anguished look on his face only became worse.  


"You may not after you've seen this," He told her, and she frowned at him slightly, pulling her hand away and turning back toward the computer screen.  


She knew that it must be pretty bad, whatever it was. She carefully moved her hand over the keys, hesitating a moment before pressing play.  


Coulson's face was on the screen, younger, less lines, but with a darker look in his eye than what he had when Skye first met him.

 

\-----

 

When the recording was finished, Coulson watched Skye carefully as she stood very still, her hands held at her sides. He noticed her fingers were clenched into tight fists, and he closed his eyes, waiting for the blow.  


He'd failed her. This entire time, it had been _him_ all along, and she had trusted him. With everything.  


When Skye turned around to face him, she saw the anguished look on his face and his eyes pressed shut. She frowned at him.  


"Coulson." She said carefully, wondering why he looked like a beat puppy.  


"Skye, I..." He trailed off, opening his eyes and looking at her in earnest. He sounded worse than apologetic; he sounded... Like he'd given up. Like he expected her to just cut into him.  


"Coulson," Skye said again, this time more firmly, "How the _hell_ could Fury do this to you?"  


Coulson stared at her in shock. Her rage was not directed _at_ him - it was _for_ him.  


"I mean - what the hell?!" Skye said a little louder, something sparking in her eyes that he hasn't seen before.  


"Skye," Coulson stepped toward her, reaching a hand out to calm her down. Instead, she stepped into him and threw her arms around his waist, holding him firmly.  


She didn't say anything; she was too angry to speak. Coulson was too surprised by her reaction to know what to say, and he let out a breath and swallowed.  


He slowly raised a hand to press against her shoulder blade, half-heartedly returning her embrace, still expecting her to shove him away.  


"They're going to pay for this." Skye promised vehemently, and he could feel against his shoulder how tightly she was holding her jaw.  
  


"Skye," Coulson insisted, grasping her shoulders and pushing her back enough to look her in the eyes. "That was _me_. _I_ was performing all those experiments on people, for who knows how long. Innocent people were dying, because of _me_. How many other people have begged for death?! How many others have I tortured?!"  


Skye began shaking her head urgently before he was finished.  


"But you weren't unaffected by that, Coulson! You advised him to stop the project entirely - you _resigned_. _You_ , who geeks out over old Commando gear and Captain America. You, who has been referred to as the best agent of SHIELD by practically every other person I've talked to. You told Fury that you would resign before continuing that project. You aren't _heartless_ , AC,"  


"But I _didn't_ resign, Skye," Coulson said, his tone anguished again. "At the very least, I went on to lead the Avengers Initiative. And who knows how much time passed between those two projects. What else could I have done in the name of SHIELD... Or maybe even in the name of _Hydra_..."  


Coulson let go of her, backing away and dropping to the bed. He rested his elbows on his knees, dropping his head into his hands.  


"To imagine doing something for Hydra, even unknowingly... I can't stand that, Skye. I can't live with that." Coulson admitted quietly, his voice partially muffled.  


"Because you are an agent of SHIELD." Skye reminded him firmly. "You always will be, Phillip Coulson." Coulson looked up at her when she said his full name, having never heard her done so before. "You told me once that SHIELD represented the protection between what's out there and what's down here. That the people need something, someone, to stand behind. That's who we are, AC. Maybe the public lost their trust in us as a whole because of Hydra - but they still need us. They still need protection."  


Skye stepped over and crouched down in front of him, so that she was now looking up at him. She gently took one of his hands in hers, and while his hand was relatively limp in hers, he didn't pull away.  


"It still counts for something," She quoted his words gently, and he gave her a small, wry smile, and sniffed. He was still a little embarrassed about that moment out in the snow.... She squeezed his hand a little hard with her next words; a warning, "If you ever even _suggest_ your own death, in _any_ way, in front of me again, so help me God..."  


"Yes, ma'am," Coulson replied sheepishly, trying to follow her lead and lighten the mood a little bit. Skye reached up and pulled his head down against hers, foreheads resting together.  


"I know you now, AC, and _that's_ who you are. Whoever that guy is in that video... Maybe it did used to be you. But it's not you anymore. Who you are _now_ is what matters." Skye spoke gently but firmly, and he closed his eyes as he focused on her breath ghosting across his face, using that focus to calm down. "The AC I know is a good man, a kind man, who makes tough decisions and sometimes dangerous ones - but he's a caring man. He's cool,"  


Coulson chuckled again, this time a little looser and with a little more genuine amusement.  
  


“The AC I know doesn’t always like the consequences, but he makes the tough decisions anyway. He knows that in the end, he’s picked the right choice – even if the rest of the team doesn’t always agree.” She was the one with the wry smile this time, both of them recalling the complaints as they had trudged through the snowy wilderness of Canada.  


“Sometimes I feel like the old me disagrees with the things I’m doing now,” Coulson whispered his admission. Skye brought her hands up again and rested them against either side of his face, her fingers pushing through his hair a little. “I break protocol… a lot, now. Even before I got angry over the whole TAHITI project, I was disobeying orders and making rash decisions.”  


“Rash decisions? You?” Skye said lightly, arching her eyebrow. She felt him chuckle.  


“I kept you around.” He said simply. “I was ordered to bring you in and, instead, I took you in as a part of the team.”  


“I remember,” Skye said softly, “The rest of the team didn’t like me, at first. But you did – you believed in me from the very beginning.” She sounded thankful, and he sighed.  


_I don’t deserve her._   


“They grew to like you, though.” Coulson told her, and she nodded slightly, his head moving a little as well because of where their foreheads still touched. “Seeing that video,” Coulson went back to what was really bothering him, “It pulled up all those moments where I second-guessed myself. Where I felt like I wasn’t _me_ , anymore. Skye, I – I don’t _remember_.” He sounded distraught again, and she rubbed her fingers gently where they rested against his head.  


A calm, soothing motion, from someone who was so pent up with angry energy… he didn’t deserve this. He sucked in a breath, squeezing his eyes shut tighter, waiting for a few breaths until he was sure that he could speak without choking up.  


“I remember New York. I remember what happened before New York. I remember the Avengers, I remember when I first met Captain Rodgers, when I found Thor’s hammer, when I was Barton and Romanoff’s SO….” His next sentence sounded a little miffed, “All those dealings with Stark.”  


Skye smiled, telling herself to ask him about _those_ stories later. She continued softly massaging his head, and felt his facial muscles begin to relax, although his tone was still tightly wound in emotion.  


“I remember Audrey,” He said her name with such soft sadness that Skye felt simultaneously jealous and heart-broken.  


“AC,” She crooned, and he shook his head very slightly.  


“That was a long time ago,” He sighed. “But if I am forgetting an _entire project_ … what else have they taken from me? How many days, months, _years_ of my life have been taken from me? What things have I said, what have I done, that have effected other people? Good or bad? Skye – I don’t _remember_.”  


His distress tore through her, and she pulled him closer to her. He pushed her back a little with his knees as he slid off the edge of the bed and onto the floor; now in a better position to pull her against him. Before she could maneuver to his side, he pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist and dropping his head onto her shoulder.  


She was surprised by his sudden vulnerability, and a little overwhelmed by it. She figured this was a long-time coming, though, and just hoped that this would later help him rather than harm him further.  


His body shook, and she wrapped one arm around his back and lifted her chin, resting it on top of his head. She wrapped her other arm around his, a still, solid weight that she hoped would comfort him.  


Tears fell down her face as well, and she recalled the one and only other time she’d seen him cry. She had been crying as well then, too. A man like Coulson was too good of a man to be brought to tears, and in her sadness, she tried to box away the building rage, forcing it to settle and simmer. Holding it in until that perfect moment, when she could avenge his brokenness.


	4. Chapter 4

Skye couldn't help but rebuke herself for her actions while she'd been held hostage on the Bus. She'd had a  _chance_  right there to take care of Ward, to put a little wrench in Garrett's plans, but she hadn't taken it.  
  


Regardless of what Coulson said, she  _had_ been stupid and weak, and she couldn't understand how he didn't  _get_  why she was so frustrated with herself. A lot of her anger was because of what they had done to  _Coulson_ , and here he is telling her that she was right in her compassion?  
  


No. Ward was not the one who deserved her compassion. Garrett did not deserve compassion. Hydra did not deserve compassion.  
  


The only people who deserved that were right here, homeless and on the run with her. And now that she'd lost the hard drive, she put the people she cared most about in  _even more_  danger than they were already in.  
  


She sat down hard on the bed, trying to contain the scream that wanted to be let out.  _Why_  had she allowed Ward to manipulate her so? She'd played  _right_  into his game – hook, line, sinker. And she'd  _kissed_ him,  
  


"God," Skye shuddered and kicked her shoes off, pulling her feet up onto the bed. Her laptop was still sitting there, open to the picture she had taken of Ward at the diner. The picture she had used in his police file. He looked innocent, in this picture. He looked like the Ward that she had trained with, played games with, teased, crushed on… He'd been  _Ward_ , sure; people skills weren't really his forte – but he'd also been sweet, at times. He had shown her vulnerability.  
  


"I guess that was the point," She muttered, wiping tears off of her cheeks angrily. He'd played her. He'd played the whole team.  
  


She wasn't sure which bothered her more.

 

\-----

 

After her pep talk with May, Skye felt significantly better. At first she had wondered why May had been the one to come give her a pep talk, and not Coulson, but then May offered for Skye to join her Tai Chi sessions.  
  


"You knew, didn't you?" Skye quickly moved to follow Coulson out the door, pulling it almost completely closed behind her. He stopped and looked at her closely. "You knew that May would offer to help me."  
  


"I know that you have a lot to be angry at, Skye." Coulson replied, giving her a small, sad smile. "And I know that May is the best person I've ever known at controlling her anger, at waiting to use it until the moment is right."  
  


Skye looked at him for a moment, and reached up to place her palm on his chest.  
  
  


"Thank you," She told him, and his eyes softened. They stood like that for a few more moments before Coulson nodded and slipped away. When Skye stepped back into the hotel room, May was giving the empty space where Coulson had been a curious look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

******

 

Skye pulled Coulson to the side after his rallying speech on the plane, turning their bodies away from the other two as they prepared. They spoke in low tones to try and give themselves as much privacy in the small space as possible.  
  


“Coulson,” Skye said, and he shook his head slightly as he checked his gun and holstered it.  
  


“It’ll work, Skye,” He told her, determination in his eyes, and she gave him a grim smile.  
  


“I don’t doubt that – it’s a plan made by AC,” He smiled at that, “It’s just… you and Trip are going to be in the middle of it. Not that I doubt Trip’s abilities at all, but I’d feel better if it was May watching your back…”  
  


“No,” Coulson shook his head firmly, “I want May protecting _you_. We both know that you’re the one Ward will be after, and I want May to be there when he shows.” Coulson pulled at his vest to make sure it was snug, and grinned at her. “I’ll take care of Trip, don’t worry.” Skye smiled for real at that, and shook her head.  
  


“Alright, AC,” Skye sighed, touching his elbow. “Just… be careful, okay?” She spoke even quieter, and his eyes softened.  
  


“Don’t worry about me. Just get our Ace, okay?” He told her, and she nodded, squaring her shoulders. He reached up to brush his thumb across her cheek, giving her what she was starting to call ‘The Look’. She hadn’t seen it since they were at the first hotel, and it calmed her more than anything he could have said.  
  


He pulled away and stepped into the cockpit, and she turned toward her bag to make sure everything was in there. Whether the other two had witnessed their rather intimate moment or not, they acted as if nothing out of the ordinary happened, and the three of them finished preparing in grim silence.

 

\-----

 

After everything finally calmed down, after Ward was taken away, after Ace was reunited with his aunt, after Mike walked away into the darkness, the team scrounged around the facility, reacquiring weaponry and other tech that had been taken from the Fridge.  
  


“FitzSimmons will probably enjoy some of this science stuff.” Fury pointed out to Coulson, who nodded in agreement. “Make sure that makes it onto the Bus!” Fury told the officers working in the hanger bay. Various affirmatives were given, and he turned toward Coulson. “You know where the plasma beam might be?” Coulson grinned.  
  


“I think I have an idea.”  
  


When Coulson returned to the hanger bay five minutes later, the rest of the team had met up and were comparing injuries. Worry he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying so heavily eased away when he saw that Skye was unharmed. She did not share his look of relief, however, and ran up to him before he’d even handed off the plasma beam.  
  


“Are you alright?” She demanded, reaching up to touch the skin near his right eye. He flinched back, frowning at her.  
  


“Just a scratch.” He said, handing the 0-8-4 weapon to the tech awaiting nearby. “You know that head wounds bleed a lot. It looks worse than it is.”  
  


“It _looks_ like it needs stitches,” Skye pointed out as he walked around her to join the rest of the team.  
  


“Your girl’s right, Coulson.” Fury said. “Hey! Where’s the damn medic?!” Fury yelled to the general room, and immediately someone was there with a handful of medical supplies. Coulson frowned toward Skye again but did as the medic asked.  
  


Skye didn’t overlook how Director Fury had referred to her, and she quietly disappeared into the fray to help clean up. No sense in calling attention to her and Coulson’s predicament. It wasn’t like he was mortally wounded or anything.  
  


“Hey,” May had followed her up the loading ramp into the Bus, “You did good back there.” May sounded sincere, and Skye grinned.  
  


“So did you.”  
  


“Sorry I didn’t leave any of him for you,” May commented, and Skye shook her head.  
  


“Honestly? I got what I wanted out of Ward. He isn’t the one I’m saving my anger for, anyway.” Skye admitted, shrugging.  
  


“Who is?” May asked, raising her eyebrow curiously. Skye stopped and looked at her for a moment, and trusted that she wouldn’t tell Coulson.  
  


“The man who did this,” Skye pointed toward her own stomach, “And the woman who did that,” She spoke darkly, jabbing her thumb toward Coulson. May followed the gesture, looking thoughtful.  
  


“Raina,” She spoke with understanding, and when she returned her eyes to Skye, she was looking serious. “And Quinn. It’s not going to happen immediately. They’re in the wind, and we need to recuperate.”  
  


“I know,” Skye nodded, looking solemn. “But I’m going to find her. And I’m going to make her pay.”


	5. Chapter 5

Coulson wanted to start by taking stock of everything they had taken from Cybertek, and everything that was already at the Playground.

 

When she wasn’t sitting in Fitz’ recovery room, Simmons was cleaning up and reorganizing the medical facilities in the compound. Triplett and May both started out with working on the weapons inventory; it turned out the Playground had its own armory, much to Trip’s delight. Coulson had talked to Skye about figuring out a way to contact agents that were still loyal to SHIELD, so she was currently developing a secure network. She was also working on upping the network security measures within the compound, so what files they had weren’t in danger of being stolen or misused. Again.

 

With nothing to do but wait on her programs to run, Skye searched through the storage rooms for the paper files they had taken from Cybertek. She might as well start digitizing them now; it would be a long process.

 

She was digging through one of the more chaotic rooms, muttering about how they should have been a little more organized when they first unloaded, when she saw something that made her freeze.

 

The entire back wall was covered in symbols, symbols that looked just like what she’d seen in the glass from the door that Garrett had gone to crazy town with. She wasn’t sure why it made her so uncomfortable, but she left the room quickly. She made sure to close the door behind her. The files were probably in a different room, anyway.

 

By the time Skye discovered the files she’d been looking for, she couldn’t remember what had freaked her out about the other storage room, and she laughed at herself about being scared of ghosts.

 

\-----

 

Coulson was glad that he had changed in his bathroom after his workout, because Skye was standing in his room when he stepped out. He stared at her, startled, as steam wafted out from behind him.

 

“We shouldn’t have kissed.” Skye told him. She was staring, unblinking. He took a step further into the room, leaving the residual warmth of the bathroom and feeling the cold droplets of water his wet hair was dripping down his neck.

 

“It was your idea,” He pointed out calmly, lifting the towel in his hands to the back of his neck, rubbing it through his hair.

 

He appeared calm enough, but she felt like she was losing her mind. She was quite aware of his scent, much stronger from the shower, and the way his hair stuck up after he ran the towel over it. The way the grey V-neck sweater he now wore clung to his shoulders, but hung off the rest of him rather loosely. The way he could wear a pair of jeans _perfectly_ , because, hell, why wouldn’t he?

 

She _then_ realized that she hadn’t replied to him, and focused back on his face to see him raise his eyebrow toward her. _Amused_. Skye narrowed her eyes.

 

“I should have waited to show you what Simmons’ had found. I should have waited to figure it out,” She sounded frustrated with herself, and a little flustered. Coulson smirked slightly and took a step closer to her. “We don’t have _time_ to be dealing with this, on top of everything else…” She trailed off, staring at the hollow point at the base of his neck, where the two sides of his collarbone met. Skin that rarely showed itself, because of his suits. An innocent patch of skin, really.

 

She wanted to taste it.

 

Coulson’s hands were at her shoulders, jarring her back into focus.

 

“Skye.” He said a little forcefully. “Just breathe. It’s okay.” He thought that she was second-guessing what they had done because of her own lack of interest – oh, no, that wasn’t her problem at all.

 

“It’s not okay,” She argued, “It’s not.” He removed his hands from her, dropping them to his side. He frowned a little, concerned.

 

“Skye, I’m not angry with you,” He stopped, seeing her surprised look. “That’s not the problem,” He surmised, and she scoffed, though it sounded more like an distressed moan, and she moved a little closer to him to drop her forehead to his shoulder. He swallowed, kept his hands at his sides.

 

“AC, _how_ can you be…” She lifted her hands, pressing them gently against his abdomen. He sucked in a breath, froze. “I’m waiting on my algorithm, I don’t have anything else to do for the moment, and I immediately think about…” She turns her head, rubbing the tip of her nose against the side of his neck.

 

There’s that awareness again, jolting all the way down to his toes, but he still keeps his hands at his sides.

 

“ _Skye_ ,” He doesn’t speak as forcefully as he intended; it comes out sounding a little more wistful. He feels her nose move toward the front of his neck. “We need to focus on rebuilding,” He says, but his eyes close and his hands find themselves on her waist.

 

“ _That’s_ _the problem_ ,” Her breath against his damp skin is almost too much. _I’d been doing so well_ , he thought. He’d thought about her while he was in the shower, sure, but he’d kept those thoughts innocent… mostly. He’d tried to.

 

“It’s only been a few days,” He ground out between his teeth, eyes still closed and hands still firmly planted on her hips, “It’s just too new. This will pass.” He sounded like he was talking to himself just as much as he was her. Her nose pressed more firmly against the hollow of his neck, and her hands slipped up under his sweater, her palms flat against the bare skin of his stomach. His hands clenched at her waist, and she breathed in deeply against his neck.

 

“Mmh,” She sighed, and when her lips touched his skin, he leaned his head back to give her better access. She slowly trailed her lips up across his Adam’s apple, back down to his collarbone, humming against his skin. Breathing him in. Her soft skin rubbed against his scruff, a delicious feeling. Her fingers moved against his abdomen, but gave no threat of rising higher. He groaned lightly.

 

He knew this was not a smart idea, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care, because she felt so good, perfect; everything he’d been _missing_. He also knew that most of this was probably because of their “shared alien juice”, as she called it, but he didn’t care about that either. That didn’t matter anymore. What mattered, was that they were _together_. After so long –

 

He disentangled his hands from her hair suddenly, taking a step back. _When did my hands reach her hair?_ He vaguely wondered, staring at her with wide eyes. She was giving him the same look, though there was also understanding in her eyes.

 

“You feel it too, don’t you?” She said again, quietly, out of breath and yet also very calm. “It’s confusing. I don’t know what’s _me_ and what’s…” She looked away from him for the first time, frustrated tears shining in her eyes. As ruffled as he was, a part of him was worried for her, and he took a step closer to her again.

 

“I can’t tell…” Coulson trailed off, in agreement with her. But if he says this out loud, he’s admitting… he’s admitting it’s not _all just_ the drug. He’s admitting that a part of this is him, human, Phillip Coulson. Attracted to one of the members of his team – hell, more than _attracted_. This was not the Agent Coulson he used to be, he knew that. The question was, did he still want to try to be that agent?

 

He looked at her carefully, her brow furrowed slightly as she watched him debate with himself, and as she tried to figure her own thoughts out.

 

_No_ , he decided. He was different now, and like she had told him previously, who he was _now_ was what mattered.

 

Very deliberately, and carefully, he placed his hands on either side of her face, leaned in, closed his eyes, and kissed her. After a few moments, and still feeling like he was completely in control, he pulled away, keeping his hands on her.

 

“After we get this place more organized, we will try this again. If we cannot … control… it, then we will talk with Simmons. Okay?” He spoke firmly, not quite in his ‘boss’ voice, but in a tone that asked for no arguments. Skye nodded silently, licking her lips.

 

“What if,” She sounded worried, scared almost, and he shook his head, interrupting her.

 

“We need to be very careful now, Skye.” He told her softly, dropping his hands and taking a step back. “From now on, we cannot be alone together. I don’t want to have to avoid you entirely, but if it becomes necessary…” He trailed off, and she nodded.

 

“If it becomes necessary.” She agreed. They looked at one another with a sort of sadness. “God, AC. What the hell is happening to us?” Skye wondered quietly. He stared her softly in the eyes.

 

“I don’t know, Skye. But I won’t let it hurt us, I can promise you that.”


	6. Chapter 6

After five a.m. Tai Chi with May, Skye trained with Trip for a few hours. He had refused to call himself her SO, and he wouldn’t allow her to call him by that title, but neither of them really minded. They thought of it more as ‘big brother teaching little sister the tools of the trade’, anyway, and Skye thought it was much cooler that way.  
  


She usually had time between to make herself a cup of coffee, and she was doing just that when Coulson walked into the kitchen, headed straight for the coffee pot.  
  


“It’s fresh, if you want some.” Skye said, taking a sip out of her mug. He gave her a tired, grateful look as he poured a mug for himself. “Late start, today?” Skye mused, watching his movements. He was dressed like he was about to go workout; in shorts and a t-shirt. She tried not to stare at his arms for too long.  
  


“Didn’t sleep much last night,” He replied with a shrug, leaning his hip against the counter next to her as he took a sip of his coffee. Skye knew better than to scold him about his sleeping habits, and drained the rest of her mug before rinsing it and putting it in the washer.  
  


“Well, I’m going to go stretch and get myself ready by the time Trip wakes up. If you haven’t gone back to bed by then, you’re welcome to watch me kick his ass.” Skye offered, looking over her shoulder at him as she walked out into the hallway.  
  


“How could I refuse an offer like that?” Coulson smiled at her, watching her walk away.  
  


\-----  
  


“Alright, let’s see if you remember any of those jiu-jitsu moves I showed you,” Trip was smirking as he took his stance on the mat. Skye gave him a serious look as she followed suit, standing opposite.  
  


_“Most people you’re gonna fight with are gonna be bigger than you,”_ Trip had told her back when they first started, _“So I’m gonna show you how to use their own weight and strength against them.”_  
  


_“Will I be able to take you down?”_ Skye had teased him.  
  


_“I hope so. Or else I haven’t taught you right.”_   
  


Skye had been surprised, at first. With Ward, if she ever surprised him or got a hit on him, he would be angry about it. But with Trip, he would give her a smile and tell her she did good, or he would show her how to perform the move even better next time.  
  


Mornings like today, though, were when they got all their competiveness out. No holds barred, may the best man win. Though Trip always promised to keep the match relatively fair, and only used moves that he had previously shown her in lessons.  
  


Of course, it didn’t matter if they were moves that she knew like the back of her hand, or moves that he had demonstrated once three weeks ago.  
  


He liked to keep her on her toes.  
  


They circled the mat once, Trip waiting on her to make the first move, which she did. He quickly blocked her and twisted her around to put her in a choke hold. She frowned, not wanting to tap out so early.  
  


“Are you even awake?” Trip teased her, and Skye rolled her eyes. “C’mon, tap out.” Trip said. He hadn’t shown her yet how to get out of this hold, though he wasn’t about to just let her go. Points weren’t given until the other person tapped.  
  


Skye calmed her breathing – choke holds always made her panicky – and she looked over to where Coulson was currently running on the treadmill. She winked at him, and he looked amused, knowing exactly what she was about to do.  
  


“What are you waiting – ” Trip stopped when Skye suddenly moved, dropping her weight and putting her head down. In quick succession, she elbowed his stomach and reached back to push her palm against his jaw, forcing his head up and back. This allowed her enough space to twist her body around and gain control of the arm that he had been choking her with.  
  


“Damn!” Trip grunted as she over-rotated his shoulder and brought him to the ground. He tapped and she quickly dropped his arm and took a few steps back, fists up, breathing heavily with the effort. Trip was not a small guy, and she had never actually tried that move on another person before.  
  


Trip got up and gave her a look.  
  


“I didn’t show you that move.” He told her, and she grinned cheekily at him.  
  


“You did. Once. I YouTube’d it after that.”  
  


“You learned how to do that from _YouTube_?” Trip replied, incredulous. He looked toward Coulson. “Sir, can we _please_ revoke her internet privileges?”  
  


“Tried that once.” Coulson smirked. “Didn’t work so well.” Skye grinned at him and Trip shook his head, muttering to himself,  
  


“Learning how to fight from _YouTube_. How the hell…”  
  


Skye knew that Trip was going to start to really use his weight and strength against her, and she widened her stance a bit when he moved toward her, shoulders low. She let out a small breath of air as he flipped her over, but used his momentum to roll them over so that she was on top. Both of their arms were trapped in useless positions, however, and he lifted his hips up and pushed with his shoulders, flipping her over his head so that she landed on her back with a thud.  
  


She lifted her head up and frowned toward Coulson’s raised eyebrow, flipping herself around onto her feet, hands ready to block an incoming attack. This time Trip got a hand onto the back of her shoulder, pushing her to the ground. He dropped down to trap her and she got her foot up and pressed it into his stomach, pushing him up and over. He wrapped his arm around her leg as he flipped and forced her to roll as well, securely trapping her leg with her face down on the mat. She tapped the mat and he let her go, both of them quickly getting back to their feet.  
  


Trip wasted no time coming after her. She blocked his first punch, took the second against her thigh, elbowed his face in retaliation. Though his head turned away from the hit, he brought his arm up to snag it around her neck and twisted his body so that she was off-balance. She braced two hands against his abdomen. From here, she couldn’t do much to get out of it without sacrificing herself in the process. She tapped his knee.  
  


He let her go, standing up straight and moving away toward his water bottle, wiping his hand across his face. She straightened a little slowly, rubbing her neck and shaking her head.  
  


Coulson’s brow was furrowed in worry, and she gave him a warning look. The point of this was not for her to be handled with care. Coulson raised his eyebrows in a “what did I do?” gesture. He was still jogging at that same speed – she wondered how many miles he was at, by now.  
  


“Ready?” Trip asked, capping his water bottle and tossing it to the side. Skye nodded and stepped toward him, and he grinned at the serious look on her face.  
  


_His mistake._   
  


This time when Trip found himself on his back, he drew his knees up slightly and grabbed the back of Skye’s shirt with one hand and her shoulder with the other. He managed to get one of her legs between his knees, immobilizing her for a moment. She used her free foot to reach back and push against his knee; as soon as her leg was free she twisted around so that her body was perpendicular to his. She got her arms free and attempted to reach around and get him in a choke hold. He held his arms up and in to defend her attack, and she changed tactic, pushing one of his arms out enough to get her knee up and on top of his bicep. She rested her weight on top of it for a moment, and as soon as she felt his muscle relaxing she brought her other leg around to take its place, now positioning her left out past Trip’s head. He tried to roll toward her, pushing her off, and she stepped her left leg over him and wrapped her right arm around his left, grabbing the fabric of his pants at his knee and pulling it back as well, as the momentum carried her body to the floor. His arm was trapped, she had control of the leg closest to her, and he was flat on his back again.  
  


He tapped the floor.  
  


Coulson said nothing as he walked by Skye letting Trip’s arm drop to the floor, scooting away from him. He was smirking, though. Proudly. Skye grinned, leaning back on her hands.  
  


Trip stayed where he was for a moment, catching his breath.  
  


“The trick is, use their weight against them.” Skye said.  
  


“Why did I agree to this.” Trip said.  
  


\-----  
  


There were only two showers that worked in the compound at the moment, and with Coulson in one and Skye in the other, Trip sat himself down at the kitchen counter, a large glass of water in his hand. May walked in and opened the fridge, looking for something to eat. Trip avoided her eyes.  
  


“Skye’s never going to let you live that down, you know.” May commented, and Trip scoffed.  
  


“Skye is the least of my problems on that note. _Coulson_ was watching – ”  
  


“Is that why he had such a smug look on his face?” May chuckled, and Trip frowned.  
  


“He totally knew it, too. He _knew_ what was going to happen.” Trip complained, staring at his glass of water.  
  


“I wonder if her 0-8-4 status has something to do with her picking this stuff up so quickly,” May mused as she left the room. Trip groaned and dropped his head to the counter.  
  


“ _Please_ revoke her internet privileges.”  
  


\-----  
  


Skye knocked on the doorjamb of Coulson’s office door. He was sitting behind his desk, suited up as usual. This both comforted her and disappointed her at the same time.  
  


“Hey, AC. Can I come in?” She asked, and he nodded and gestured toward the seat across from his desk.  
  


“Yeah, I’m just pulling up your file now… I want to figure out what in here is true, what isn’t, and what is missing.” He replied, flipping through a pile of folders on his desk. “Here it is…” He pulled one of them out and pushed the others to the side. Skye was surprised that it wasn’t as thin as she expected.  
  


“I guess they’ve come up with some more data on me other than ‘0-8-4’ and ‘village deaths’,” Skye mused, and Coulson gave her a wry look.  
  


“Skye, you know that you didn’t cause those deaths yourself,” He reminded her, and she sighed and nodded, slouching in the chair and swinging her legs off the side. She ran her fingers through her still-damp hair, sliding it across the front of her shoulder.  
  


Coulson thought she smelled good, and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest.  
  


“We need Simmons to run some more tests on this serum, I think.” Coulson said seriously, and Skye looked at him with mild surprise.  
  


“Really? You were so against testing, previously…” She pointed out, and he shrugged, not quite looking her in the eyes.  
  


“It’s becoming too distracting,” He admitted calmly.  
  


“Then why am I in here?” Skye interrupted him with mild alarm, remembering their previous agreement to never be alone together.  
  


“Because I want you to be my second in command.” He spoke quickly, before she could get up and move away.  
  


Skye blinked.  
  


“You want… what now?” She asked carefully, and he leaned forward, resting his forearms on top of his desk.  
  


“Well, not _exactly_ second in command, because I don’t want to put that kind of stress on your shoulders, but…” Coulson looked at her for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “I could use your eyes, Skye. The way you think. You see things differently than everyone else.”  
  


“Yeah, because I’m a _rookie_. AC, you know better than anyone that I want to be a _real_ agent of SHIELD 2.0 or whatever we’re calling it. And I totally want to help you out – I mean, anything you need, I’ll do it.” Skye said seriously, leaning forward in her chair as well. “But could you really see other people taking orders from me? Trip is great, and May and I are really hitting it off, but honestly. I could never be their _boss_.”

 

“You don’t have to be their boss, Skye,” Coulson told her softly, “I just want you with me, figuring things out. Rebuilding SHIELD. Discovering our… past.”

 

“Is this you,” Skye asked carefully, “Or is this the serum?”  
  


Coulson looked at her in silence for a while.  
  


“This is me, Skye,” He promised her, pointing toward her, “And _that_ is why you’re the one I asked. You’re not afraid to argue with me.”  
  


“Most people would call that a problem, sir.” Skye said wryly, and Coulson smirked.  
  


“I don’t want a company of robots. I don’t want people who always agree with me. One of the reasons Hydra got so far into SHIELD was because we were sheep. We followed orders blindly and we never questioned.” Coulson said, and Skye nodded slowly.  
  


“‘Trust the system’, right?” She quoted him softly, and he winced.  
  


“Case in point.” He admitted.  
  


“Well,” Skye sighed, relaxing back into her seat, “I suppose I can agree to question everything you say from here on out.”  
  


“Not quite what I meant, Skye.”  
  


“I know, Director.” Skye said, grinning. She waited a beat, and then said, “So, this second in command stuff… we’d have to be alone together a lot for that, huh?”  
  


Coulson nodded and leaned back.  
  


“We need to figure out what’s going on, if we can control it, if there are certain times that we should just avoid one another entirely,”  
  


“What, like _mating season_?”  
  


“Skye,” Coulson sighed, squeezing his eyes closed. “I’m trying to be serious, here.”  
  


“I know, I know,” Skye sighed as well. “Sorry. Humor. Defense mechanism.”  
  


“So you agree with me, then?” Coulson clarified, opening his eyes. Skye nodded.  
  


“Yeah, I agree with you.” Skye said. “I’m just not looking forward to seeing how Simmons is gonna take all this.”  
  


“It’ll be fine,” Coulson assured her. “Simmons is the one who discovered the blood anomaly in the first place, remember?”


	7. Chapter 7

They agreed to see Simmons after lunch, finding her in the lab on the Bus.

“Hi, guys!” Simmons greeted them with a smile. She was doing much better now that Fitz seemed to be on the mend. “I’m just gathering up the last of the files here to take to the lab on the base.”

“About that,” Coulson stopped her, “Have you taken any of our, uh,” Coulson glanced toward Skye, “work off of the Bus?”

“No, that’s actually what I’m grabbing now…” Simmons trailed off. “Why?”

“I’d like you to keep it here.” Coulson informed her. “I don’t want record of it anywhere in the Playground.” Simmons looked at him with surprise.

“Coulson… Should we really start off SHIELD 2.0 with more secrets?” Skye said quietly, her hand on his elbow to grab his attention.

“Remember what you said about people taking orders from you?” Coulson replied carefully. “What do you think people are going to do when they find out their new Director has alien DNA swimming around inside of him?” Skye knew he was right, and pulled her hand away. “You’re right, though,” Coulson continued, giving her a pleased look, “I don’t want to start off with secrets.” He turned toward Simmons, who was watching their exchange curiously. “Simmons, put all of this into a Level Ten file. I’ll still redact most of it.”

Skye nodded, knowing that they had to be careful about this, for a multitude of reasons. Least of which being that the two of them were probably, technically, quite compromised by this point.

“Yes, Sir…” Simmons agreed, pulling their files and samples out of the pile on the holo-table. There was a moment of awkward silence as Skye and Coulson stood there not quite looking at her, and she frowned. “Has something happened, Sir?” She asked carefully.

“Not exactly,” Coulson replied.

“Not yet,” Skye muttered dryly.

“We need you to take another blood sample.” Coulson told her, slipping off his suit jacket.

“What – now?” Simmons asked, surprised, and Skye nodded, pulling the sleeve of her sweater up passed her elbow. “Of both of you?” They both nodded, and Simmons went about gathering the necessary items while Coulson rolled up his sleeve. Simmons heard Skye sigh longingly, and turned to give her a confused look. The two were staring at one another, and Simmons narrowed her eyes as she also pulled out a notebook with the handwritten scrawl, “CHEESE” on the front.

“What kind of symptoms are you experiencing?” Simmons asked as she laid everything out on an empty space on the table. She grabbed two of the desk chairs and moved them over for Coulson and Skye to sit.

“Um, well, I showed him those blood samples from a couple months ago, and explained what you had told me…” Skye began, biting her lip. Coulson looked calm, but avoided Simmons’ eye.

“I was going to tell you myself, Sir, but everything got a little hectic…” Simmons said apologetically, and Coulson shrugged.

“It’s fine, Simmons.” He said. “The problem is… we’re thinking that whatever was happening with the blood, is happening with _us_ , now.”

Simmons frowned as she thought, prepping the syringes. She handed each of them a cotton ball soaked in alcohol so they could dab it on their arms.

“The … attraction?” Simmons could not think of another word to use for it, and blushed, but Coulson was nodding seriously. The awkwardness slid away as Simmons fell into full scientist mode, and she pulled the notebook closer to her so she could jot something down in it.

“Have either of you felt any sort of attraction to one another before Skye was injected with the serum?” Simmons asked, focusing on pressing the needle into Coulson’s skin. The silence was heavy, and she glanced up to see them giving one another a wary look.

“Um,” Coulson said as Simmons pulled the needle away, pressing a small pad of gauze in its place. Coulson reached up to hold it there as she stepped away to put label the vial of blood and set it in the container along with the older samples.

“Is that important?” Skye asked, watching as Simmons repeated the same procedure with her arm. Simmons rolled her eyes.

“Of course it’s important. I need to establish a base line so I can understand the changes in levels at which you’re experiencing your symptoms.” Simmons spoke as if Skye were a dimwit, and Skye frowned slightly.

“It’s okay, Skye,” Coulson finally said, speaking very softly.

“Fine. Yes, okay?” Skye looked away, frustrated, blushing.

“Yes?” Coulson repeated, sounding surprised.

“Of course!” Skye huffed, looking back his direction to glare at him. “We’ve been _over_ this, remember?” She said, and his ears turned pink.

Simmons looked at both of them carefully, shocked but trying to stay level-headed.

“How much, would you say, Skye?” Simmons asked quietly, and Skye sighed heavily.

“I don’t know. A lot. But nothing I would ever act on, you know? I was never gonna act on it.” She muttered, pressing the gauze against her skin once Simmons pulled the needle away, and folding her arms across her chest.

“You were never going to act on it?” Coulson asked, sounding bothered by that. Simmons labelled Skye’s vial and set it next to Coulson’s, making sure they were both dated correctly. She then added in the notebook that she had taken blood, the date, and left a space to write down her later observations of how the blood acted. She also wrote in: ‘previous attraction between subjects, neither acknowledged nor acted on’.

“Of course not, are you kidding?” Skye looked at him with wide eyes. “You’re AC!”

“As if that explains everything.” Coulson scoffed, and Simmons cleared her throat.

“Agent – sorry – Director Coulson? What about you? Any previous attraction?” Simmons already knew the answer to this question, but wanted to make it fair to Skye and asked him to say it out loud.

She _had_ seen how he’d acted when Skye had gotten shot.

There was a long silence while Coulson struggled with himself.

“It’s against protocol.” He muttered finally, and Skye raised her eyebrows.

“ _What_.”

“Skye – ”

“ _No_.” She stopped his argument. “ _What_?”

“I’m your commanding officer, Skye!”

“I don’t know whether to hit you, or kiss you.” Skye growled, folding her arms again and staring straight ahead.

Simmons continued writing, particularly about the way they had argued. Skye was the only person who could get away with talking to Coulson like that.

“Well, now _that’s_ been cleared up,” Simmons spoke cheerfully, pulling their attention back toward her, “Why don’t you tell me about what’s been happening _after_ the injection of the serum?” They both looked sheepish, and Skye was the first one to speak.

“We’ve kissed,” She admitted, and Simmons’ eyebrows flew up to the top of her forehead.

“Multiple times,” Coulson pointed out, and Simmons blinked at him.

“Pretty seriously, a couple times,” Skye trailed off, smirked, and then Coulson cleared his throat loudly, pulling her back into focus.

“ _You and Agent Coulson_ …” Simmons reverted back to the title she was used to for him, sounding both awed and unsure at the same time. Coulson shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Anyway, the point is, sometimes we… most of the time – no, not most of the time… I don’t know. There are points where we lose ourselves.” Skye spoke quickly, and Simmons frowned thoughtfully as she wrote almost subconsciously in the notebook.

“Well, that tends to happen when you jump somebody right after they’ve gotten out of the shower,” Coulson muttered under his breath, and Skye gave him a wide-eyed look while Simmons gave Skye the same look.

“It’s _more_ than – this is something else, Simmons,” Skye explained, flustered again. “I can’t even describe it. But one minute it’s like ‘oh, this is new. This is good’ and then the next it’s ‘finally, I’ve missed you, it’s been so long’ – it’s like – I don’t even know!” Skye threw her hands into the air, giving up.

“And is it the same in your opinion, Director Coulson?” Simmons asked, that thoughtful look on her face again.

“Yes,” Coulson sighed, “Though I would hope to say it a little more eloquently than that.” Skye made a face at him.

“So my second surmise was probably correct…” She mused. “You were given DNA from two of the same species. Two who were bonded in some way.” Simmons said, fascinated with what has happened. Skye, however, looked slightly horrified.

“You mean this isn’t going to _end_?” She sounded dismayed, and Coulson raised his eyebrow.

“As I recall, I’m not _that_ bad of a kisser.” He pointed out, and there was a long moment of silence as Coulson and Skye stared at one another, and Simmons stared at the both of them. Simmons was bright red, and Skye had her head tilted to the side, as if she were trying to figure out how to reply to his statement.

“Why don’t we take a look at the blood samples…” Simmons spoke slowly, moving toward the microscopes and setting up the video feed to put it on the screen.

“I don’t think I can deal with this much longer.” Skye said seriously, standing up and turning to face the screen. Coulson stood as well, moving his chair out of the way to stand next to her.

“It’ll be fine,” He reassured her, and she turned toward him.

“I don’t think you understand the _wanting_ –”

“Oh, I want. _I want_.” He stepped closer to her, pulling her body against his. She sucked in a breath, staring at him, and Simmons cleared her throat, having raised her head and caught them looking as if they were about to devour each other.

“Guys. Focus.” She ordered, a myriad of reactions running through her. Fascinating, disturbing, and kind of adorable – but extremely uncomfortable to have it happening right in front of her.

“Sorry, Simmons,” Skye breathed, turning away from Coulson, her throat dry.

“Alrighty, then,” Simmons murmured toward the screen as two windows popped up. It was a broad view of the blood samples, and they appeared normal. Simmons zoomed both microscopes in for a closer view, and still, the blood appeared normal in both color and movement.

“Well, that’s a good sign,” Simmons said with a smile, and noticed both Skye and Coulson visibly relax. “Let’s see what happens when I do this,” Simmons moved the instruments closer together, so that the bases were almost touching.

The sudden movement on screen was so violent that Skye jerked away from Coulson, although they hadn’t even been touching. There was a small ‘crack’, and Simmons frowned and turned back toward the microscopes.

“Damn,” She muttered, pulling one of the slides off and holding it up into the light. It had cracked, and the blood was slowly seeping through. She tossed it in the biohazard bin and prepared another slide.

“What was _that_?” Coulson demanded, and Simmons glanced at him carefully before focusing on her task again.

“That,” She said, putting some distance between the microscopes before putting the new slide on, “Was your blood, Director Coulson.”


	8. Chapter 8

“What do you think it means?” Skye asked with wonder, once she remembered to breathe again. She wasn’t sure why that had made her jump so badly.

“Perhaps I’ll become so enraged in sexual frustration that I’ll spontaneously combust?” Coulson snarked, folding his arms across his chest. _This isn’t fascinating, _he thought, _my blood just attacked. This could become dangerous_.

“Who knew; death by sexual frustration? Not the worst way to go, I suppose,” May’s voice caused all three of them to jump, and Coulson glared at her.

“How long have you been there?” He demanded, and she shrugged.

“Not long. I just heard you mention spontaneously combusting.” May stepped into the lab. “Koenig is looking for you. I don’t know why. He’s in one of his moods, again.”

Sometimes Koenig got a little too fan-boyish over Coulson, and would seek him out and talk with him for hours. Not that Coulson minded _too_ much; he supposed he deserved it after what he’d put Captain America through. And Koenig really wasn’t all that bad. He was decent competition in Call of Duty, too.

“Thanks, May.” Coulson said. All four of them stood there for a moment. Coulson sighed and opened his mouth to say something else when Simmons suddenly spoke,

“You aren’t compromised because you’re _having_ sex – you’re compromised because you _aren’t_!”

This silence was even longer, and far more awkward. Skye stared at an empty spot on the ground with wide eyes, not wanting to see what look Coulson was sporting on his face this time.

“Well,” May said, breaking the fast-growing tension, “You always did have a knack for breaking the rules in the most roundabout of ways, Coulson.” May sounded amused, and Coulson stared at her with disbelief.

“Simmons, _what_ in the _world_ gave you that idea, and _what_ made you think it was okay to say it out loud?” Coulson asked the scientist very carefully, clenching his jaw.

“Well, Sir, I…” As Simmons tried to stammer out an answer, Skye groaned and put her head in her hands, leaning her hip back against the counter.

“What am I going to _do_?” Skye’s moan was muffled into her hands, and May rolled her eyes.

“ _Coulson_ , obviously,” May pointed out, and Simmons snapped her mouth shut and turned bright red immediately. Coulson whirled around and glared at May with a look of anger that almost resembled the one he gave her when he found out about her secret orders from Fury.

“Get. Out.” He ordered her, and she listened. She was smirking as she walked away, though.

They all refused to look at one another for a few minutes, and Coulson took that time to calm down.

“Simmons,” He spoke slowly, carefully, “I’m sorry that I yelled at you. Why don’t you show me what made you come to your conclusion?” Simmons nodded quickly and pulled out a petri dish, some droppers, and the two vials of blood.

“Well, it wasn’t really a conclusion, not really. More of a hypothesis. But I’d like to test it out…” She explained as she worked, drawing a bit of their blood into each of the droppers. Skye jerked her head up.

“What kind of tests?” She demanded quickly, and Simmons glanced up at her with a raised eyebrow.

“With the blood, Skye. Tests with the blood.” She calmed her friend, and Skye relaxed somewhat. She took a step away from Coulson, putting more distance between them. Coulson’s lips twitched into a frown, but he didn’t say anything.

They watched silently as Simmons put a couple drops of Skye’s blood into the dish, waiting a moment before adding in the same amount of Coulson’s. None of them were sure which exactly changed first, but the blood started swirling a bit, and faded from red to blue, until the entire sample was blue.

“Did you – ” Skye started to ask about the swirling, but then the color started changing and she didn’t even notice Simmons shaking her head.

Simmons quickly moved the dish under the microscope and pulled it into a close focus.

All three of them sucked in a breath.

The blood had changed.

It was no longer human.

 

\-----

 

As much as Skye and Coulson wanted to observe – it was _their_ blood, after all – Simmons shoved them out so she could perform more tests. She even thought to lock the door behind them, after promising that she wouldn’t even include Fitz on her findings. Not yet, anyway.

Coulson and Skye walked down the hall slowly, side by side, close but not touching.

“I don’t have any words.” Skye said, staring off into the distance.

“I would make a Rising Tide joke about that, but I’m just as shocked as you are.” Coulson replied in the same tone of voice.

After a minute Skye sucked in a strangled breath, and Coulson grabbed onto her, pulling her in.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay.” He wrapped his arms around her, running his hand against her hair. “We’re in this together, remember?” He soothed, and she nodded quickly, sniffing.

“Yeah. Yeah. Sorry, it’s just… the shock of it, I think. I’m okay.” Skye said, pulling away from him, swiping at her eyes. He kept his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. “I’m okay.” Skye promised, and he nodded, squeezing her shoulder.

“Take a break before dinner. We need time to process.” He told her.

“Do we even know what we’re processing?” Skye wondered, and Coulson shook his head lightly.

“Not completely. But I think –” Skye grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled him toward her, kissing him hard. “What – what was that for?” He asked, flustered, when she let him go.

“Just wanted to see if one of us would spontaneously combust.” She breathed.

“Skye.” He had the warning tone, again.

“Hey, Simmons is running her own tests; we could run a few of our own, compare notes…”

“ _Skye_.”

“Or we could just keep it to ourselves. You’re right – we wouldn’t want to scar poor Simmons – ”

He pushed her against the wall, pressing his body against hers without hesitating, leaning his head in to kiss her again. His kiss was not rough, but it was urgent, and soon his tongue was in her mouth and her hands were sliding through his hair.

“ _AC_ ,” She hummed quietly as his lips trailed along her jaw and down the side of her neck.

She heard footsteps coming down the hall and she felt like her heart stopped for a second. She pushed at him, but he hadn’t heard the approaching person and continued kissing her, his hands sliding up underneath her shirt. She flinched, laughed quietly, then pushed at him again, a little harder this time. He pulled back and looked at her, his eyes dark and his hands on her hips.

“What? Ticklish?” The corners of his eyes creased with amusement and she pushed his hands away, sliding out from between him and the wall, straightening her shirt.

“Someone’s coming,” She hissed, and he cleared his throat, all mirth falling away as he squared his shoulders and straightened his tie.

Agent Koenig looked surprised to see them, but broke out in a wide smile.

“I was sent down to get you guys to help with dinner!” Koenig said happily, and Skye and Coulson glanced at one another before nodding and moving quickly down the hall.

“Right, of course,”

“Yeah, May probably needs some help,”

“I could use a coffee,”

“Me too,”

Koenig watched them disappear around the corner, and laughed, shaking his head and continuing toward the hanger bay to fetch Simmons.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reference to the comics, somewhere in here...

Skye was sitting on the couch in Coulson’s office two weeks later, her feet settled on the cushion next to her and her tablet propped up on bent knees. Coulson was sitting at his desk, working on a list of names. He was hoping to find some old friends that were still loyal to the Agency, but he was finding it difficult to earn their trust when they couldn’t have face-to-face meetings.

“We need some sort of secure network to be able to communicate.” Coulson sighed, rubbing his eyes. Skye looked over at him.

“Um, hello? That’s like my forte.” She pointed out, and he moved his hand away from his eyes to look at her while he thought.

“It needs to be _very_ secure.” He told her, and she gave him a wry look.

“C’mon, AC,” She scoffed, and closed out the inventory she had previously been working on. She swung her feet down to the floor and stood up. “Don’t freak out,” She said when he’d frowned, “I’m just going to get my laptop.”

She smirked at him as she left the room, and his frown deepened.

“I wasn’t _freaking out_ ,” He muttered.

There was a knock on his door and he looked up, frown falling away. Simmons was standing there, her notebook in her hands. He gestured her in and leaned back in his chair. She approached his desk but didn’t sit.

“I don’t have much of an update, yet, sir. I’m still running tests. I would just like to suggest to you… don’t go exchanging blood with Skye anytime soon, okay?” Simmons told him, and he raised his eyebrow.

“I wasn’t planning to, Simmons, but I’ll keep that in mind,” Coulson replied slowly, spying what was written on the front of Simmons’ notebook, and furrowing his brow. “Cheese?”

“What?” Simmons asked, confused. He gestured with a nod of his head toward her notebook. “Oh!” Simmons laughed the way she did when she was nervous, and she flipped the book around. “My notes on you. Well, you and Skye, now. It started out with you, of course, when we first started running tests on GH-325.”

“Cheese?” Coulson repeated, and Simmons shrugged.

“You know, like ‘The Big Cheese’? I figured it would be better to use a codename than have a notebook with ‘Agent Phillip Coulson’ on the front of it.”

“Ah,” Coulson replied, giving her a small smile, and she relaxed, and even smiled back a little bit.

“How have your symptoms been since last week?” She asked, and he was mildly uncomfortable to watch her flip open the notebook to a blank page.

“It disconcerts me that you have notes on my love life.” Coulson said, and Simmons looked uncomfortable as well.

“It usually helps if I keep focused on the science of it.” Simmons admitted, shifting her feet. Coulson sighed.

“Skye and I haven’t… We’ve stayed out of contact.”

“What do you mean?”

“We haven’t touched.”

“At all?” Simmons sounded surprised.

“At all.” Coulson confirmed.

“She’s in here a lot, though, isn’t she?” Simmons sounded surprised, and concerned, which Coulson narrowed his eyes at.

“She leaves the room if I ask her to.” Coulson replied with a carefully stoic look on his face. “And she leaves the room if she feels the need to.”

“No arguments?” Simmons still sounded surprised, writing furiously in her notebook.

“No arguments.”

Simmons finished writing, and looked up toward him seriously.

“You can’t do that.” She told him in her ‘doctor voice’. He looked surprised.

“I can’t do that?” He repeated, narrowing his eyes and leaning forward. “What do you mean, ‘I can’t do that’?”

“It’ll get worse.” Simmons told him seriously. “Haven’t you noticed anything already?”

There was a long moment of silence, and Coulson shifted uncomfortably in his seat, looking away from her.

“I’ve been dreaming about her more lately.” He admitted, still avoiding eye contact. He could hear her pen scratching into the paper, and sighed.

“What is the nature of these dreams?” She asked as she wrote.

“Is that pertinent?” Coulson replied shortly, and Simmons jumped slightly, hesitating.

“Um…”

“They’re realistic.” Coulson replied angrily, folding his arms across his chest, glaring at his desk.

“As in…”

“Let’s just say all my biological functions are working properly, okay?” Coulson gave her a steely glare, and she blushed furiously.

She at least gave him the dignity to hold off on her notes until she returned to the lab. She waited a few moments before continuing her questions.

“Has this happened…” She couldn’t even finish that one, but he knew what she was asking.

“Not since I was in high school,” Coulson admitted, and he sounded… kind of amused. Simmons felt her cheeks grow warmer and she looked toward his fake window. It showed a picture of a beach, and she frowned, finally looking directly at him again.

“Sir, doesn’t that picture… remind you of Tahiti?” She asked carefully, concerned, and he sighed.

“That’s the point,” he replied sadly. “It reminds me why we are here in the first place. It keeps me… grounded. The anger distracts me when I become too focused on thoughts of her.”

“Sir… You shouldn’t do that,” Simmons told him again, softly. He narrowed his eyes toward her, and she continued before he could express his annoyance. “I’ve been running a long-term test along with some of the other things I’ve been doing. Keeping samples of the blood close together for long periods of time, but not allowing them to interact. This morning, I had removed the barrier between the two and allowed them to mix.”

“And?”

“It just gets worse, sir.” Simmons told him instead. “The desire only gets more intense. I’m not saying you should…” Simmons took a breath, sorted out her thoughts, and continued, “I think you should monitor your interactions. But don’t _fight_ them. I believe that carefully handled, minor, intimacy will help contain the attraction at least. But if you continue the way you are right now…”

“What?” Coulson asked firmly, his lips thinned.

“You _will_ do what both of you are afraid of. You _will_ lose control.” Simmons was serious, and Coulson closed his eyes, a pained look on his face.

“I didn’t want this.” Coulson said quietly, and Simmons gave him a sympathetic look.

“I know, sir.” She said softly.

“I’m an old fashioned man, Simmons,” Coulson opened his eyes and looked at her; she’d never seen such vulnerability in his eyes before. “Things like sex… it’s not a flippant thing. It’s important. How is she supposed to know that when this serum is messing with us like it is? She’s never going to know whether it’s _me_ or whether it’s the _serum_.”

“She’ll know,” Simmons promised him, “If you tell her. Remember that Skye’s not the stereotypical young woman. And she _knows_ you, sir.” Coulson looked appeased, and she waited a moment before saying, “This is one of the reasons I believe my plan will help. That way, you can _choose_ when to take the next step.”

“The fact that is a _when_ , now, and not an _if_.” Coulson replied quietly, and Simmons gave him a half smile before heading out of the room.

“I think it was always a _when_ , Director.” Simmons said at the doorway, and Coulson lifted his eyebrows in surprise.

Simmons disappeared and Skye walked in with her laptop open in her hands. She glanced up at him as she returned to her spot on the couch.

“What’s that face for? Simmons have any news for us?” Skye asked, most of her focus pointed toward her laptop.

Coulson heaved a heavy sigh and stood, moving to the front of his desk. He hesitated there, and leaned back against it.

“How have you been handling our… arrangement?” He wondered, and she raised her eyebrow, suspicious of his casual tone.

“Fine,” She trailed off, setting her laptop to the side. “Do I need to leave?” She asked, and he shook his head quickly, moving toward the couch and sitting next to her. She stiffened; part of the arrangement had been keeping a good couple feet of space between the two of them. Coulson turned to look at her.

“Simmons believes that what we are doing right now is dangerous.” He told her, and she frowned.

“What part of what we’re doing?” She wondered.

“The not touching part.” He said, and Skye swallowed.

“Oh.” She said.

He looked at her carefully for a moment, and raised his hand toward her. She flinched away, and he hesitated.

“If we’re careful, we may be able to control it,” He told her, and the look of determination on his face made her hopeful. She was also just hopeful for _him_ ; it had been agonizing these past weeks trying to keep from even just reaching out and sliding her hand across his as they worked together.

“She doesn’t want day-by-day updates, does she?” Skye asked, and Coulson laughed.

“There’s that humor,” He said, pressing his palm against her cheek. Skye immediately closed her eyes and sighed, a smile forming on her face. She opened her eyes when his other hand pressed against the other side of her face, and he was smiling too. He looked at her for another long moment.

“AC,” Skye whispered, giving him a small nod, giving him permission. He leaned in and kissed her softly and languidly, and she felt like it was the best kiss she’d ever had in her life. She slid her hands up to the lapels of his jacket, pulling him further toward her, and his fingers slipped into her hair.

Five minutes later, there was a knocking on the door, and they disentangled themselves quickly. Coulson stood and moved toward his desk, clearing his throat lightly.

“This stuff needs a warning label,” Skye breathed, as Coulson readjusted his tie. “Warning: may cause intense, spontaneous make-out sessions. Symptoms also include constantly thinking about what makes your boss so freaking _hot,_ and dreaming every night about – ”

“I think I get the warning label, Skye,” Coulson growled out, his fingers gripping the edge of his desk.

“Right. Sorry.” Skye fixed the hem line of her dress, smoothing it down as Coulson called into his office whoever it was on the other side of the door that had interrupted them.

“I thought that I should add – ” Simmons stopped when she caught Skye’s glare. “Um…”

“You should also add in your notes that Skye has experienced the same symptoms as I have.” Coulson said to Simmons before Skye could say something, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“What symptoms?” Skye demanded, forgetting her annoyance at the interruption, at the same time Simmons said,

“She _told_ you that?”

The two girls stared at Coulson with surprise. He smirked, and Skye threw her tablet stylus at him.

“ _You’ve_ had the dreams too? Why do you keep hiding these things from me?” Skye demanded, approaching him. He held his hands out to grasp her shoulders and keep her arms-length away.

“Excuse me for wanting to keep my sexual thoughts from the woman I’m trying to _woo_!” Coulson retorted, and Skye rolled her eyes.

“ _God_ , you’re so old fashioned,” She groaned in annoyance, grabbing his jacket and yanking him toward her, giving him an open-mouthed, dirty kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him, leaning his hips back against his desk.

“I would just like to remind the two of you that I’m still standing here.” Simmons pointed out nervously, looking at an empty spot on the floor.

“Sorry, Simmons,” Skye breathed, wiping her hand across her mouth and stepping away from Coulson. He looked a little short-circuited, and only blinked. “What did you want to add?” Skye still sounded a bit breathless.

“I – nothing, I think you’ve figured it out on your own.” Simmons offered them a timid smile, and then disappeared. Skye stared at the empty doorway for a moment.

“You think she actually had anything to say, or was she trying to catch us in the act?”

“Please don’t talk about us being in the act.”

Skye grinned at Coulson, who was pinching his lips shut.

“I should get back to work on that program.” Skye pointed out, and Coulson nodded, staring at her lips. “Okay?” She said, and he nodded again. She sighed, putting her hands on her hips. “I can’t concentrate when you’re looking at me like that.” She informed him, and he blinked his eyes up to meet hers.

“Looking at you like what?” He wondered, and she smiled, chuckling.

“I’m going to go work in my own office, okay?” She told him, and he looked disappointed.

“You don’t have to. It’s okay.” He insisted, moving around to sit behind his desk.

“It’s pretty boring, what I’m doing right now. This is all code work.” Skye said, and he shrugged.

“I don’t mind. I like your company.” He said, and Skye smiled.

“I like your company too.” She told him, sitting in the chair across from him.


	10. Chapter 10

They fell into a comfortable routine, and still managed to keep their situation mostly under wraps. Usually, Coulson would greet Skye in the hall on his way to work out, give her a long hug, a kiss on the cheek (and sometimes on the lips, though that was more dangerous to do in public areas), and they would go about their day with no problems.

 

Sometimes, Skye would reach out and brush her hand across his during meetings. He became an expert at finding just the right moment to return the gesture, when no one else was paying attention.

 

Simmons was still running her tests, and asking them for very non-specific updates as the weeks passed.

 

Then Skye had started leaving the Playground more, going out with Trip on “Welcome Wagon” missions and trying to find safe locations to meet other SHIELD agents. At the rate she was going, racking up so many field hours, she would reach Level Two in no time, and Coulson was very proud of that. If he had it his way, she’d be at least Level Six already, but he didn’t want to give the impression that he was abusing his stance of power. That, and he was pretty sure Skye would get very angry with him if he didn’t allow her to work for it herself.

 

She was kind of wonderful, in that way.

 

Coulson shook his head to clear his thoughts, and realized that he was standing in the middle of the hall, facing the hangar bay. He frowned slightly, wondering how he had arrived here, when his original destination had been his office.

 

He picked up on the sound of an engine motoring down, and he couldn’t help but take an anticipatory step forward. He clasped his hands in front of him, squeezing his fingers.

 

He was here because Skye and Trip were just arriving back, and he’d wanted to greet them – hell, he might as well be honest. He wanted to see Skye. The problem with her leaving the building so much was that they couldn’t get in as much of their ‘monitored affection’, and he found himself becoming restless.

 

A minute later, Trip and Skye rounded the corner, bags slung over their shoulders and harried grins on their faces.

 

“Well, _that_ one was fun. Wait until I tell AC; he’s going to have a _cow_ ,” Skye was speaking animatedly to Trip, and cut off when she realized Coulson was standing there in the hall. She stopped walking immediately, and her smile widened further. “Hey, AC,” She greeted warmly, and Coulson narrowed his eyes toward the bloody cut above her eyebrow, and the slight bruising on her cheek.

 

“Hello, Sir.” Trip greeted, somewhat surprised to find Coulson simply standing there. “Turns out our tip was a hoax. Skye – ”

 

“You should have _seen_ his Captain America collection!” Skye interrupted, and Coulson was momentarily distracted from her wounds. “No cards, unfortunately. I asked.”

 

“That’s disappointing.” Coulson admitted truthfully, touched that she would have attempted to replace some of his old collection. Trip rolled his eyes, an amused smile on his face.

 

“ _Anyway_ , like I was saying,” He said with a pointed look toward Skye, “she had a bit of a run-in with an old Rising Tide buddy.” Coulson’s expression clouded and he narrowed his eyes again, this time toward Trip. “It was quickly handled, don’t worry,” Trip quickly continued, “by a misplaced headbutt.”

 

Skye frowned, looking away with embarrassment. Coulson stared at her.

 

“You headbutted someone?” He asked incredulously, and she shrugged, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. “That’s not exactly the most _recommended_ way to defend yourself,” Coulson scolded her dryly, and she rolled her eyes at him.

 

“It worked, didn’t it?” She muttered, and Trip chuckled, shaking his head.

 

“That’s about it, sir. I’ll write up the full report and get it in to you tomorrow.” Trip said, and Coulson nodded. Trip nudged Skye companionably with his shoulder, and then left the two of them alone in the hall. They stared at one another for a moment.

 

“Come on,” Coulson sighed, “Simmons should look at that.”

 

“It’s hardly a scratch!” Skye argued, and Coulson raised his eyebrow at her.

 

“You’ll be lucky if it doesn’t need stitches.” He said, and she huffed, walking with him down the hall.

 

They had arrived at his office and he was holding the door open for her before he realized the mistake.

 

“Um, AC?” Skye asked, her own eyebrow raised. “Ow, okay, yeah. That hurts.” She commented, dropping the duffel next to the couch and sitting down, touching her fingers gently to her forehead.

 

Coulson was frowning, confused, but he slowly shut his office door anyway.

 

“I keep finding myself places I don’t mean to be,” He admitted to her, and she looked up at him, concerned.

 

“Have you been doing anything dangerous?” She asked, and he shook his head.

 

“I just end up in strange rooms.” He told her, and moved toward the bathroom in the back corner of the room. He spoke through the open doorway as he hunted through the cabinets, “I’ve got stuff here, at least. I can patch it up.”

 

“Alright, Doctor AC,” Skye said wryly, and he was making a face when he entered the room, supplies in hand.

 

“You’ll need to learn some medical too, you know, for field work. Have you been studying with Simmons?” He asked her, and she sighed.

 

“Yes, _Professor_.” She grumbled, and he smirked lightly at her.

 

“Doctor, Professor – what other professions am I going to have by the end of this conversation?” He teased, and she gave him a cheeky look.

 

“Director, Agent, Babysitter, Commanding Officer,” She counted off on her fingers, and he groaned, holding his free hand up in the air.

 

“Alright, alright, that wasn’t a challenge,” He complained, amusement in his eyes. “Do you mind sitting on the edge of my desk? I’ll be able to see what I’m doing better.”

 

She looked at him carefully as she nodded, standing and moving to his desk. Because no, this wasn’t kind of like situations she had dreamed of happening in his office. Not at all. She sat on the edge of the desk and carefully brushed her hair back away from her forehead. When he set the medical supplies on the desk next to her and stepped closer, she reached out and touched a finger to his chest.

 

“Avenger…” She murmured, and he halted, staring at her.

 

“You… You heard that?” He asked, and she nodded.

 

“I didn’t mean to. I’d come up to, uh, well,” Skye thought better than to bring up that particular subject at the moment, “I’d accidentally hung around with my ear pressed against the closed door.” She admitted, and Coulson gave her a wry look. “It made me so happy,” She told him seriously, and he smiled softly.

 

“Me, too.” He admitted, and they just smiled at each other for a few moments, until he remembered that she was still bleeding slightly. “Let’s get you fixed up,” He said, stepping closer to her, rolling his sleeves up.

 

Skye bit her lip, and closed her eyes.

 

“How much does it hurt?” He asked, and she shook her head.

 

“It just stings a little. I just… don’t want to distract you if you’ve gotta stitch me up.” She told him.

 

“Right.” He murmured, and paid very close attention to taking care of her wounds. The stitches were minimal, and she only flinched slightly when he’d dabbed the wound with alcohol. When he was finished, he brushed his thumb lightly against her temple, just underneath the wound. “The bruising is going to look nice, by tomorrow.” He told her, and she let out a long sigh.

 

“Guess I shouldn’t plan on going out on any dates for the next couple of days, then,” She mused, and opened her eyes to see him giving her a serious look. His fingers slid down to her neck, and then across the back as he pressed his palm against her skin.

 

He stepped closer to the desk, standing just inside the space between her knees, and leaned in to brush his nose against the unharmed side of her face. He nuzzled the sensitive spot just below her ear, and she sucked in a breath, her fingers clenching the lapels of his jacket.

 

“When was the last time we touched?” He breathed against her skin, and she struggled to answer him.

 

“Just a couple days ago,” She stammered, reaching to unbutton his jacket, sliding her hands against his shirt.

 

“We used to be able to go weeks,” He said against her neck, his nose pressed against the hollow dip between her collarbone and shoulder. Skye let out a little whimper, her fingers grasping at his shirt now, and he quickly lifted his head, urgently pressing his mouth against hers. She pulled at him and he stepped closer, her thighs pressing against his hips. He traced her lip with his tongue, and then his tongue was running across the roof of her mouth, and she was moaning and pulling at him, wanting him closer. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her forward to the very edge of the desk, holding her body against his. One of his hands slid to the back of her knee, and he shifted his hips slightly.

 

“Coulson!” She gasped out a whisper, her hands in his hair. She tugged a little harder than intended, and it made him clear-headed enough to wrench himself away from her.

 

“I’m sorry,” He gasped heavily, struggling to gather himself, “I’m sorry.” He took another step back, more than an arm’s length away now, and ran trembling hands across his face.

 

Skye sat where she was, chest heaving and staring at him with wide eyes. She clenched the edge of his desk with her fingers, craving the solid heat of his body even more.

 

“Phil,” She managed to say, her tone strangled.

 

“Don’t!” He interrupted quickly, looking at her with fright in his eyes. “Don’t,” he repeated, softer, and she frowned, biting her lip. “Just give me a minute,” He said shakily, before she could say anything else. He closed his eyes and took some measured deep breaths. Skye didn’t move a muscle, hardly blinking as she watched him. When he finally opened his eyes again, he appeared relatively calmer, which was fine and dandy for _him_ , but _she_ felt like she was about to fall apart.

 

“Coulson,” She said quietly, and his brow furrowed apologetically.

 

“Skye,” He sighed. “I shouldn’t have done that.” She stared at him hard, then nodded slowly in agreement.

 

“I need to go,” She said, and watched the self-deprecation cross his face. She finally moved, sliding off the desk and reaching out toward him. “Don’t do that,” She said, stopping herself, pulling her hand back before she could touch him. “Don’t blame yourself like this was _wrong_.”

 

“But _Skye_ , we almost – ”

 

“Like doing it on your desk is a bad thing?” Skye interrupted, running her hands through her hair, using her frustration to calm down all the other emotions raging through her.

 

He twitched violently.

 

They were caught in another staring match when there was a knock on the door, and Simmons’ voice was calling out,

 

“Is Skye in there? I heard she was hurt.”

 

Coulson sucked in a breath, and almost looked angry for a moment, before turning and moving toward the door.

 

“I patched her up,” He said without preamble, pulling the door open. Simmons jumped, took in his appearance, and glanced around him to look at Skye.

 

“Oh.” She said. “I trust you did a good job, then.” She trailed off, glancing between the two of them. “Shall I walk Skye back to her bunk?” She asked carefully, trying to be respectful.

 

“Please.” Coulson said, and he and Skye both looked relieved. Skye hurried toward her bag and slipped it over her shoulder, sliding past Coulson before Simmons could say anything else. “Wait,” Coulson reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her. Skye looked at him, and they were too close, but Simmons was right there next to them, so he didn’t worry too much.

 

“Not a bad thing.” He said darkly, rotating his jaw. “Not a bad thing at all.” When he saw Skye’s eyes widen, he let go of her arm and disappeared back into his office, shutting the door on both of them. Simmons furrowed her brow.

 

“What was that about?” She wondered, and Skye sucked in a strangled breath.

 

“Nothing,” She cleared her throat. “Nothing.” She stared off into space for a second, and Simmons put her hand on Skye’s shoulder, jarring her back into focus.

 

“Come on, Skye. Let’s get you to bed.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About a week or so later...

“I can’t find anything on Raina,” Coulson leaned back in his chair, frustrated. Skye furrowed her brow.

 

“I haven’t found anything either.” Skye thought for a moment. “Do you think Cybertek would have had something on her?”

  
“You mean if she was a part of the incentives program? I don’t think so. She seemed to be using Garrett for her own gain; I don’t think he needed any incentives for her. I don’t think she’s strictly Hydra. I think she chooses to be with whomever can be the most help to her.” Coulson said.

 

“And Garrett helped her get to you, and the serum,” Skye figured, and Coulson nodded.

 

“And helped her get to _you_ as well,” He reminded her carefully, and she frowned.

 

“Ward said she had told him I’m a monster.”

 

“You’re not.” Coulson said firmly.

 

“We could _both_ be monsters, you know.” Skye raised her eyebrow at him. “All the time Simmons has been spending on research and we still know next to nothing about the serum.”

 

“It’s the _actions_ we choose to make, that matter. Regardless of what’s in our blood. You remember when I commended you for your compassion toward Ward? A monster wouldn’t have done that, Skye. A monster wouldn’t have thought twice before ensuring its own survival.”

 

After a moment, Skye gave him a small smile, temporarily appeased. She knew that this would weigh on her mind until she could figure out the truth about her parents, but that was a puzzle she had been dealing with for her entire life, so it wasn’t too difficult to push it to the side once more.

 

“Even though she was using Garrett, he was using her, as well. He _had_ to have had something on her… a file, somewhere.”

 

“If he did, it’s in one of the storage rooms around here. I need to set up contact with a few SHIELD agents; why don’t you see if Koenig wants to help you search?” Coulson suggested, and Skye smirked at him.

 

“You are so pulling the Director card, right now.” She called him out, standing up and flipping the cover closed over her tablet. Coulson smiled up at her, but didn’t say anything else, and focused back on his computer screen. Skye shook her head and laughed. “Fine. Grunt work, it is.” She stopped at the doorway. “If I find this, and we discover where she is, I want your word that I’m on that recovery op.”

 

Coulson looked up at her quickly, and she could see him formulating an argument.

 

“Please, AC, don’t fight me on this one.” Skye spoke seriously; she wasn’t begging. He must have seen something in her eyes, because he eventually nodded.

 

“Make sure you keep up your training with Triplett.” He said, looking back toward his computer. Skye nodded and closed the door behind her quietly. He wasn’t happy about the idea, but he was allowing it.

 

Which was good, because regardless of his decision, she would’ve found a way to be there, and that would have made him even more angry.

 

Looking forward to some alone time, she didn’t bother messaging Koenig. She could ask him at dinner this evening if he’d be able to help her out tomorrow. It seemed like she never got much ‘me-time’ these days, and she was starting to notice how antsy it made her.

 

From her past searches, she knew some of the storage rooms didn’t have what she was looking for, so she walked further down the hall toward one of the back rooms. There were still many that she hadn’t been in yet, and she really hoped that she would find the Raina file sooner rather than later. She did _not_ want to spend the next month digging through file boxes in dark and dusty rooms.

 

She opened a door to her right and took a glance inside. It didn’t appear too bad, from first appearances, and she had to start somewhere.

 

Most of the things in this room were weapons boxes and odds and ends that Garrett had brought on to the Bus when he had stolen it. Skye shivered and looked away, pushing that memory back into its box.

 

Spying a couple filing boxes further in behind the shelves, she maneuvered toward them, looking warily at the old glass door that Garrett had scribbled over. She wasn’t sure why it gave her such an eerie feeling – other than the fact that it was something Garrett had done.

 

Shaking the creeping feeling away, Skye pulled open an old Rising Tide podcast on her tablet, setting it on a nearby desk to offer a little background noise while she worked.

 

She no longer agreed with a lot of what the broadcasters said. Their intention was good, but their information was so one-sided… and she understood the need for secrets, now. She understood the need for SHIELD.

 

Skye smiled to herself as she rifled through the first box of files. She had Coulson to thank for a lot of her changed views. He had once told her about how she had changed the way he looked at things, as well, so she figured they were even on that subject.

 

She hadn’t realized an hour had gone by until the podcast changed, and Miles’ voice filled the room. She scowled and turned to change it, and froze. Her eyes widened slowly as she took in the image on the wall. It was _huge_ and sprawling, spanning up as far as she could see by the light, all the way down to the floor, and a number of feet across.

 

“I’ve seen this before,” She whispered aloud, knowing it was true, but not quite remembering. She kept her eyes on it and blindly reached for her tablet. She took a picture of it, and stepped forward hesitantly. “Did I do this?” She wondered, curious as to why she sort of recognized it. She stared at it for another moment, and that creeping fear started inching up her back, and suddenly she didn’t quite like being in a dark room with a bunch of stuff Garrett had touched.

 

Skye burst into Coulson’s office and hurriedly shut the door behind her, and he looked up at her with alarm.

 

“What’s wrong?” He asked, standing quickly, wondering if they were being attacked. Skye approached his desk quickly and set her tablet down in front of him.

 

“Look!” She insisted, and he frowned, relaxing slightly, reaching for her tablet slowly.

 

“Look at what?” He asked as he opened the cover. Skye hesitated.

 

“I…” She frowned. “It’s important!” She knew that much.

 

“Okay,” Coulson said calmly, concerned about how anxious she was. He turned on the screen, and stared at it for a long time before speaking.

 

“Where is this?” He asked carefully. Skye opened her mouth to reply, and then frowned. He glanced up at her, realizing her confusion. “Is this in a storage room?” He asked, and she nodded quickly.

 

“Yes, that’s where I’ve just come from.” She sounded relieved, and Coulson’s stoic expression slipped into a frown.

 

“You’ve forgotten,” He realized carefully, and she looked perturbed.

 

“I think this has happened before,” She whispered. “I think I’ve seen the map before, and for whatever reason, I keep _forgetting_ about it…”

“Map?” Coulson asked sharply.

 

“Yes, it’s on the wall.” Skye replied, and he grabbed her tablet and walked around his desk.

 

“Show me,” He ordered. Skye led him down the hall, but she walked hesitantly.

 

“I don’t remember which room I was in…” She let out a noise of frustration, and he reached out to grasp her arm gently.

 

“It’s okay,” He soothed. “Let’s just walk down this hall and see if you remember.” She relaxed a little, and nodded, giving him a sheepish look.

 

“Sorry. This is just… frustrating. And a little scary.” She admitted, and a dark look flashed across his face.

 

“Trust me Skye, I know. I know what it’s like when you’re _aware_ that there are memories that are missing, but you’re not exactly sure what they’re memories _of_ …”

 

Skye pulled his hand into hers, and squeezed it tightly. He leaned in to press a kiss on her forehead, and when he pulled away, she noticed the door that they were passing was slightly ajar.

 

“Maybe this is it,” She pulled him to a stop, and he opened the door carefully. He led the way inside, eyeing the glass door from the Bus as they passed.

 

“Here it is,” Skye whispered, and Coulson let go of her hand and approached the wall curiously.

 

“This looks like what Garrett etched into that door,” Coulson said, and looked at Skye carefully. “What makes you think it’s a map?” Skye gestured toward it, giving him her ‘isn’t it obvious’ face.

 

“Because it _is_ one. I mean, I’ve never seen somebody draw out a map like this before; it’s kind of awesome.”

 

“You can read it?” For some reason, this alarmed Coulson. If she can understand something that was similar to something Garrett had done…

 

“Well, not easily. I mean, I can kind of understand some things here, but it doesn’t really make much sense. 1’s and 0’s, you know? Basic computer language…like Pictionary. Or, no – like cave drawings. It’s the stick-figure version of computer speak.” Skye explained, and Coulson nodded, slightly relaxed, but not by much. Maybe it wasn’t as alien as they thought. Coulson suddenly felt like he had to get her out of this room, and he put his hand on her back, pushing her lightly toward the door.

 

“It freaks you out, too, doesn’t it?” Skye asked, allowing him to herd her out of the room. He shut the door firmly behind him, and locked it.

 

“It… concerns me.” He conceded. “I’m the only one with this set of keys – so we’re the only ones who can get in here. Do you understand?” He told her seriously, and she nodded.

 

“Protect the rest of the team from this. I remember.” Skye said determinedly. “I’d like to study it, and see if I can figure it out. Is that okay? Maybe between my AC-time and hunting down that Raina file?” She asked. He wasn’t too certain about her idea, but he knew _somebody_ had to look into it, and he didn’t want to bring Simmons in on this. Not yet. She was already preoccupied with the serum itself, and preparing for Fitz’s move from medical into his own quarters.

 

“Let’s see if Simmons has gotten anywhere with her research, first.” Coulson said, and she nodded.

 

When they got back to his office, they sat silently for a few minutes.

 

“Skye,” Coulson broke the silence, a frown on his face, “Do you remember why we went into the storage room?” Skye gave him a solemn look.

 

“Yes, I do.” She replied, and his frown deepened.

 

“I haven’t forgotten, either,” He said carefully. “What made you forget, before?” His question was rhetorical, and they just looked at one another as they thought of the implications of what little they knew.


	12. Chapter 12

Skye had wired up three monitors at her desk, so she had multiple things running at once. She was currently focused on the screen furthest right; it was filled with open windows and the notepad in front of her had scribbles all over it. She’d pulled an all-nighter, getting caught up in her research on ‘The Wall’, and she hadn’t found a single piece of useful information.

There was a light knock on her door, and she quickly minimized all the windows and turned toward the door.

“Come on in,” She called out, and Simmons poked her head into the room.

“I was wondering if I could catch you before breakfast, and ask you some questions… why are you in here so early?” Simmons asked, and Skye rubbed the back of her neck, leaning into her chair.

“Yeah, sure, come on in. Sorry I don’t have an extra seats in here,” Skye said, and Simmons shook her head, entering the room and leaning her hip against one of the other desks.

“No problem.”

“I, um… actually have been in here all night,” Skye admitted, and Simmons gave her a disapproving look. “I got caught up in work.”

“Skye, you’ve been spending too much time with Director Coulson. You’re turning into him,” Simmons teased, and Skye laughed.

“I’m not _that_ bad,” She joked. “So… how has your research been coming along?” Skye asked carefully, and Simmons sighed in frustration.

“Not very well. There’s not much I can do without knowing _what_ the serum really is; where it came from. All I can say is that mixing the blood causes very strange reactions – which shouldn’t really be a problem for you two, since you don’t go around making blood pacts all the time.”

Skye was surprised by Simmons’ sarcasm, but she figured the scientist was more than a little frustrated, by this point.

“And the _blood_ doesn’t exactly explain the… other reactions you two have been exhibiting.” Simmons added, frowning at the notebook she held in her hands. She looked up at Skye quickly. “Have you been having any sleeping problems? Other than getting caught up in work, I mean?”

“Insomnia, you mean?” Skye asked, and Simmons nodded.

“Sure. Or… bad dreams? Anything unsettling?”

“Depends on your definition of _unsettling_ ,” Skye muttered, crossing one knee over the other and leaning her chin against her palm. “I mean, my dreams are fine, other than the one’s I have about Coulson, and then I wake up _quite_ ‘unsettled’.”

Simmons made a face.

“I don’t need details.” She said, and Skye nodded.

“Good.” Skye took a deep breath. “Insomnia… I guess I haven’t been sleeping as much. It hasn’t been a real problem – I just get around five hours of sleep now instead of six or seven.”

“We have all been fairly busy, lately,” Simmons agreed, jotting down notes. “This hasn’t affected your productivity in any way?”

“Nope,” Skye shook her head. _I’m not having much luck with my research, anyway._ She bet Simmons would be able to help her a little, but she and Coulson had agreed to keep this from the team, for now. _We have to keep the team safe. If Simmons discovers something... I don’t want to put her at that risk. It’s already bad enough that people are after Coulson and I._

“How about your, ah, affection? Has it diminished? Increased? Changed in any way?”

“Is that really important to our problem, or is this just friendly curiosity?” Skye mused, raising her eyebrow, and Simmons laughed nervously, glancing away.

“Although I _do_ think – and you’ve both confirmed – that you were attracted to one another pre-serum, I believe that post-serum there are imbalances in your systems.” Simmons hesitated, then smiled hesitantly toward Skye. “I’m also kind of interested.” Skye shook her head, a little embarrassed.

“It’s weird,” Skye admitted. “And unpredictable. We’ll have days where we have no problems at all; I sit in his office, we talk about work, and it’s like none of this ever happened.”

“… But…?” Simmons prompted, and Skye sighed.

“But there are other days that start out no different – except I can’t even _look_ at him without thinking ‘sex’.” Skye said, and Simmons blinked, leaning her head to the side a little. She wrote something in her notebook, and chewed on the end of her pencil for a few moments before speaking.

“Have you physically lost control?” She asked, and Skye shook her head.

“Sometimes I catch him staring at me, but he looks away too quickly for me to call him out on it, or for me to react to it.”

“Staring at you?”

“You know,” Skye said pointedly, and Simmons pinched her lips together, looking back down at her notebook. “But no, we haven’t lost control or anything like that.”

“Has any of this…” Simmons couldn’t think of a good way to get around it, “inability to look at him normally happened during an operation?” Skye made a weird face, but answered,

“No. Granted, we’ve planned most of them so that we don’t see one another during the op.”

“That’s smart,” Simmons approved, writing. Skye rolled her eyes. “I want to explain to you some of my theories,” Simmons said, shifting her feet, and Skye sat up straight, giving the scientist her full attention. “I would like to do some testing with the two of you, if you wouldn’t mind, to see if any of my theories hold any weight.”

“What kind of testing?” Skye asked carefully, and Simmons quickly explained,

“Nothing that would make anyone uncomfortable. For instance, from some of my observations, I wonder if you are releasing some kind of pheromones, specifically tailored toward one another. I would like to put the two of you in a room together, in varying states of mood, and see how the other person reacts. Or how one presence effects the other.”

“Why do I feel like a lab rat?” Skye muttered under her breath.

“I’m sorry,” Simmons said sincerely. Skye shook her head.

“No, I know, I know. It’s hard to study stuff that doesn’t exist…” Skye glanced at her computer desk. “Pheromones? Like, what animals do? And what do you mean from some of your observations?”

“There have been a couple of times that Coulson’s been frustrated and tense during briefings. Every time, you stand next to him, and by the end of the meeting, he’s relaxed and occasionally even making his horrible jokes.”

“Hey, his jokes aren’t that bad.” Skye said, and Simmons gave her a look. “Okay, yeah, you’re right. His puns are pretty awful sometimes.” Skye shuddered, and Simmons smiled.

“Traditionally, pheromones such as the one’s we’re talking about haven’t been found in humans, but since neither of you are no longer completely human…” Simmons trailed off, and Skye looked disturbed for a moment.

“So my joke about mating season might actually be a _real_ concern?!”

“Um…” Simmons wrinkled her nose. “Do I want to ask?”

“No, no.” Skye quickly shook her head.

“I wouldn’t be concerned about anything such as that,” Simmons continued. “For the most part, your biology is still almost entirely human. However… with the fact that your frequent but minor physical contact has diminished the amount of times the two of you lose control, I believe that physical contact is very important with the species.” Skye relaxed somewhat, comforted that she and Simmons were sort of on the same page.

“And because you don’t seem to be causing the same reactions in any one else in the team, I believe that the two of you are the only ones able to pick up on each other’s pheromones. I’d like to see to what extent these things work. I’ve observed your ability to calm him down, and we both know that you can also… rile him up,”

Skye barked out a laugh, and Simmons blushed bright red.

“With the help of the Retriever’s, and inside of an enclosed room, I might be able to pick up on some of the airborne molecules, and I would be able to study them further.” Simmons finished quickly. Skye shrugged slowly.

“Sure, I guess. I mean, sitting in the same room together is all we do now, anyway. Would we be able to work while we’re doing this?” Skye asked.

“Occasionally,” Simmons replied, “But I’d like to study varying different factors and situations.”

Skye wondered if she was going to hate herself later for agreeing to this. Coulson might.

“Alright.” Skye agreed. “Anything that will get us closer to figuring this whole thing out.” Simmons grinned widely.

“Fantastic!” She stood away from the desk and wrote frantically in her notebook. “There is a lot I’m going to have to prepare before we get started on this… perhaps by the end of the week, we can have our first session?”

Skye groaned.

“This sounds like a therapy session.”

“This is biology, chemistry; not psychology.” Simmons corrected, and Skye leaned her head on her hand again.

“Any other of your theories you wanna tell me?” Skye asked before she left the room.

“Oh…well…” Simmons hesitated. “With both of you exhibiting such an increase in libido, I really believe that there will come a point where holding back will become dangerous.” She spoke as gently as possible, and Skye scoffed, looking off to the side.

“We’re handling it.”

“One of these days will come an operation where you will be forced to work together on the field. You can’t be focused on each other – ”

“I _know_. We both _know_.” Skye interrupted, looking back toward Simmons. “That danger was there when we were just regular old SHIELD agents. Now we’re aliens, too. And he’s the Director. And I’m an 0-8-4. Simmons, we’re already constantly in danger. We _know_ not to be stupid during an op.”

Simmons looked apologetic.

“I just … couldn’t lose either of you.” Simmons admitted softly, and Skye rubbed her hand across her eyes, softening her tone.

“Sorry, Simmons.” She sighed, and smiled lightly at her friend. “It’s been a long night. I know you’re just looking out for us. I appreciate it.”

“Director Coulson…” Simmons bit her lip, glancing toward the door. “He’s a particular man.”

“Yes.” Skye agreed, and Simmons quickly continued before she could go off track,

“Just… when the time comes, when it feels right to you… you need to make sure he knows.” Simmons said, and Skye squinted at her. “He won’t make the first move if he believes you are being influenced by the serum.” Simmons finally said.

“I don’t know; some of the kisses we’ve shared…”

“He’s very particular about sex.” Simmons said, and Skye raised her eyebrows.

“Wow, Simmons – sex and Coulson in the same sentence, and not one hesitation. I’m proud of you.” Skye teased, and Simmons glared at her.

“I’m trying to keep this all very clinical,” She said slightly reprovingly, and Skye held her hands in the air. “I’m going to get some breakfast. I suggest you join me.” Simmons pointedly ended the conversation, and moved to the doorway.

“Yeah… I’ll need coffee, too, to get through the rest of this day.” Skye stood and stretched slowly.

“It hasn’t even started, yet,” Simmons teased, and Skye groaned, locking the door behind her as they stepped into the hall.

By the time they reached the dining area, they were engaged in a safe conversation about Doctor Who, though Simmons was doing most of the talking. The rest of the team were already gathered in the room, and Skye groaned quietly when she noticed Coulson by the coffee machine.

“It’s gonna be one of those days,” She muttered, and Simmons hesitated, glancing toward her boss.

“Take advantage of it,” Simmons suggested, and Skye looked at her in surprise. She was looking toward the tables, however, where Fitz sat carefully propped up next to Trip. Skye’s expression softened and she squeezed her friend’s hand.

Fitz was doing far better, but he still looked very rough. He was pale, drawn, and had dark circles under his eyes. He was still hooked up to an IV line, and the bag hung on the stand next to him, an uncomfortable shadow. Skye had visited him multiple times while he had still been secluded in the medical room, but she had been the one to do all the talking. She was sure that he spoke with Simmons, at least a little, but she didn’t think anyone else has heard his voice yet.

“Go sit with him. I’ll get your breakfast.” Skye offered, and Simmons smiled gratefully. She told Skye what she would like, and quickly moved toward Fitz, giving him a smile. He looked up from his plate when she sat across from him, and Skye could see a change in his eyes, but he didn’t smile back.

Skye bit her lip once she was at the counter, facing away from the others. She wished she could help Fitz. She missed him – but he hadn’t been the same since Ward.

None of them had been the same since Ward, really.

“Skye?” Coulson’s soft voice made her jump, and a tear landed on the countertop. He had slid next to her, his shoulder touching hers. She quickly swiped at her eyes, sniffing lightly. “He’ll be okay.” Coulson assured her, and she nodded. Her hands shook as she pulled out bread to put in the toaster, but she pretended that they weren’t. Once she pressed the lever down, Coulson reached over and placed his hand on top of hers, rubbing his thumb across her skin. She took a deep breath, held it in for a moment, and then let it out slowly.

“Thanks,” She whispered, glancing up to see his furrowed brow. He nodded, his hand slipping away, and he turned his gaze back toward fixing up his cup of coffee.

“Would you like some?” He asked quietly, and she nodded, reaching for an apple. She watched him make the coffee while she waited on the toaster. His movements were slow, methodical, and he didn’t ask before dumping in the two creams and one sugar that she preferred.

She got caught up in the movement of his fingers, and jumped when the toaster popped.

One slice with marmalade and one with strawberry, she grabbed the two plates and Coulson followed with their coffees. Skye smiled at Simmons when she set her plate down in front of her, and Simmons returned a grateful smile, but Skye moved to sit at one of the other tables further away. Coulson followed, still silent, and sat across from her without question.

“Did you stay up all night?” He asked, watching her eat. Skye knew she looked a little worse for wear, so she didn’t bother trying to lie.

“Yes… tried finding _anything_ about those symbols on The Wall. Zilch. I’m sure SHIELD has some documentation _somewhere_ – this _is_ alien, after all – but I haven’t even come across any redacted files.”

“It could be an alien we haven’t come across, before.” Coulson pointed out, taking a sip of his coffee. Skye stared at his lips as she replied,

“But it isn’t, because Fury had it locked up in a facility and was running tests on it.” Coulson winced, and began softly,

“Skye, _I_ was – ”

“Fury was the one who decided to keep this all a secret. Even now, he hasn’t told you anything about TAHITI. But if May found that message between the two of you, there _has_ to be more documentation. Somewhere.” Skye interrupted.

“It could have all been in that facility,” Coulson admitted unfortunately. “I blew it up.”

“You were pressed for time,” Skye shrugged lightly, and Coulson gave her a look. Skye grinned at him, and his eyes did that ‘almost-smile’ thing that she loved. “You and I both know that a man like Fury doesn’t put all of his eggs in one basket. Once my security program finishes rendering, I’m going to start scanning in files.” Skye ate the rest of her toast. “Once they’re all in the system, they’ll be a lot easier to rifle through. First thing – while I want it to be finding Raina – it needs to be making sure no GH files get seen by the wrong eyes…”

Coulson gave her an appreciative look.

“I know… me, saying something like that.” Skye scoffed lightly, and Coulson reached his hand across the table. Skye glanced behind her, toward the others, but they weren’t paying any attention to the two of them. She reached out and rested her hand in his.

“I’m so proud of you.” Coulson told her, and Skye smiled, relaxing and slipping her hand further across his, her thumb brushing against his wrist.

“There are _some_ secrets worth keeping secret.” She quoted him, and he smiled a little. “I’ll just make sure those are marked Level Ten, and send ‘em to you.” Coulson gave her a long, careful look.

“You won’t be able to open them, once they’re Level Ten,” He pointed out, and she nodded.

“I know.” She said. She took a deep breath, then added, “I’m a part of this, too, but this was yours first. Your death, your recovery, and – as we learned later – your original project. I feel like…” She shook her head, not liking that choice of words, “I trust you that if I need to know, you’ll bring me in on it.”

“You don’t want to find out that I tortured this being, or knew about the side-effects long before I tried to end it.” Coulson said darkly, and Skye squeezed his hand.

“AC,” She said, softly correcting him, “Some of these files will probably be _yours_. Personal. I’m not digging through those.” He looked appreciative, but then his brow furrowed again.

“If you deleted all of our personnel files when the Triskelion fell, there shouldn’t be – ”

“Fury loved you, AC. He has copies of your file somewhere, I’m sure of it. Probably has ‘em of all the Avengers.” Skye interjected softly.

“Perhaps in that box…” Coulson mused quietly, and Skye grinned around her coffee mug.

“You still haven’t dug through that thing?” She teased, and he gave her an exasperated look.

“For such a small device, it has a _lot_ of information in it.” He waited a beat, then added, “And I’ve been a little distracted lately.”

“Have you?” She wondered, and he brushed his fingertips lightly against the underside of her wrist. She sucked in a breath, and could feel her eyes widen slightly. _Simmons was right; maybe there are some pheromones involved here_. He was looking at her intently, with _The Look_ , and she took a careful sip of her coffee before setting the mug down.

“I hope you’ve been careful during your researching,” Coulson warned her, his eyes still boring into her in that way that told her he was not thinking about work.

“Of course I have,” Skye scoffed, slipping her bare foot toward his, thankful that she had forgotten to slip her shoes back on before leaving her office. “Stark can’t even get through my security wall.” She promised him, pressing her foot lightly on top of his. His brow twitched questioningly, and she smirked, brushing her toes against the inside of his ankle. He gave her a sideways look, as if he didn’t believe that she was really going to do what she was doing, and she took that as a challenge.

Her foot slipped up all the way just passed the inside of his knee before he jerked, his free hand snapping down to grab her. She jumped and let out a short laugh, and he quickly pulled his hand from hers on the table, leaning back in his seat. He adopted a stoic look on his face, which told Skye that she had attracted the attention of the others, and she grinned cheekily at him, knowing they couldn’t see her face. His expression didn’t change for a few moments.

“What have we said about flirting in public?” He chastised her, his voice low and quiet.

“You do it all the time,” Skye retorted quietly. “Just because no one else notices…”

Coulson grinned, brushing his thumb across the arch of her foot. She jerked and sucked in a breath, biting her tongue so she didn’t make a noise. He looked smug.

Skye frowned, jerking her leg back hard enough that he let go, and she crossed her ankles underneath her seat. They were staring at one another with heavy, challenging looks when Trip walked up to the table.

“Hey, ready for weapons training?” Trip said to Skye, and she and Coulson both leaned back and looked up at him. He had a curious look on his face. “Sorry, did I interrupt something?”

“Nope,” Skye said, hopping up and grabbing her dishes. Coulson reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her. She looked at him in surprise.

“I’ll get them.” He said, and held onto her arm just a moment longer than necessary.

“Thanks, AC,” Skye managed to say, before focusing on Trip. “I’ll go put some shoes on and meet you at the range.” She said, and Trip nodded, turning to watch her leave. He looked carefully back toward Coulson, who had stood and was gathering the plate and mugs.

“Everything alright, sir?” Trip asked, seeing tension in Coulson’s eyes.

“Fine, Triplett.” Coulson assured, and hesitated before walking toward the sinks. “Let me know if she still says ‘bang’ when she fires the gun.” He said with some mirth, and Trip grinned.

“Yessir,” He said, chuckling. Coulson sauntered off, and Trip frowned as he headed out into the hall. Being a man himself, he recognized the walk men would do when – Trip grimaced. Then he halted in the middle of the hall. _Coulson’s got a hard-on for Skye?_ He narrowed his eyes, and looked suspiciously in the direction that Skye had gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dedicated this chapter to Clark Gregg's swagger.


	13. Chapter 13

She couldn’t pinpoint the exact day that things began to get more serious, but they were beginning to find themselves with their hands all over one another more often, than not.

That is, if they were ever alone together. So, they vamped up their rules, and Skye hardly ever stepped into his office at all, anymore. If Coulson needed to talk to her about something, they either took their conversation to a corner in the lab, where Simmons could keep an eye on them while she worked, or they would ask Simmons to join her in his office.

They hadn’t been caught by anyone else on the team, yet, but Skye knew that it was bound to happen sooner or later. One morning, Skye was on her way to meet May for Tai-Chi, and Coulson appeared out of nowhere, pulling her into the corner, where it was dark and the cameras couldn’t see. He held her wrists against the wall as he kissed her thoroughly, and he kept kissing her until she thought she would pass out from lack of oxygen. Finally she managed to push him away, gasping for air, and he seemed to catch himself. He said nothing at all during this entire interaction, and walked away, leaving her barely able to stand.

“God – damn – it.” Skye hissed, holding herself up against the wall.

When she was finally able to walk again, May was already in the first part of her movements. She raised a stern eyebrow toward Skye but didn’t say anything, and if she was curious about her flushed face, Skye never knew. She spent the entire session with May thinking about Coulson’s body pressed against her own, and May chided her on her lack of concentration.

They were in one of Simmons’ sessions when she caught on to what was going on. She had picked up on Skye’s frustration earlier in the day, and asked if she could use that for one of her studies. Skye agreed, of course, and that’s how she found herself alone in a small sealed off room with Coulson. Well, as alone as having Simmons standing on the other side of the glass, watching them. Which, that wasn’t creepy _at all_.

“So, what am I supposed to do?” Coulson asked, raising his eyebrow.

“I’ve already observed how Skye’s presence can calm you down when you’re agitated, Sir. I’m wondering if it works both ways.” Simmons said, her voice slightly muffled. She glanced down at her tablet, reading the graphs that were fluctuating on the screen. Skye had looked at it; they didn’t make any sense to her, but she usually used Simmons’ expressions to judge whether the experiment was a success or not. Today, Simmons looked more perturbed than usual.

“How are the two of you feeling?” She asked carefully, and Coulson shrugged, somehow making this whole thing seem very normal.

“Fine,” He said. “A little bored – no offense, Simmons.”

“None taken, Sir.” Simmons replied, and focused on Skye.

“Well, like you said, I’m frustrated,” Skye said quickly, huffing. Coulson just blinked at her.

“What made you frustrated?” Simmons asked, and Skye jabbed her finger onto Coulson’s chest.

“Him!” She said angrily, and Simmons’ face lit up, of all things.

“It would be fascinating if the same thing you were mad at ended up calming you down! That would really prove my theory about the pheromones!”

Skye was starting to get frustrated at _her_.

“There’s a lot of, um, what have both of you eaten today?” Simmons demanded, and they both looked at her with surprise.

“Eggs for breakfast. Tuna for lunch.” Coulson replied. “Coffee, water…”

“I had toast and ham.” Skye said. “And water. Why?”

“Aphrodisiacs are found in some foods,” Simmons murmured, her eyes on her tablet.

“Not in any of those,” Coulson pointed out, and Skye glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. “What? It’s something we learn in basic. Haven’t you been reading the handbook?”

“Should I start checking my food now?” Skye asked him, and he looked affronted, and then he looked coy.

“Depends.” He grinned, and she glared at him.

“Stop flirting.” She said seriously, and he shrugged.

“All I do is look at you, and you think I’m flirting.” He said, and she folded her arms across her chest.

“That’s because you _are!_ ” She retorted.

“Guys, stop talking please.” Simmons asked, suddenly looking up from her tablet. They both turned and gave her strange looks. “The more you talk, the higher this bar goes up,” She turned her tablet around for them to see, pointing at it. “This registers basic aphrodisiac molecules. Your guys’ _voices_ are even effecting one another on a molecular level! This is fascinating,” Simmons looked back at her tablet, and Coulson and Skye stared at one another.

“I mean, I’ve always loved your voice.” Skye shrugged.

“Yours isn’t annoying.” Coulson said, and she smacked him. He grinned, and she grinned a little in response.

“Look at that! You aren’t as tense anymore, Skye. I was right!” Simmons did a little dance, watching her tablet closely, and Skye rolled her eyes.

“You could have just _asked_ me if I was still frustrated, Simmons.”

“You’ve always loved my voice?” Coulson asked her curiously, and she shrugged.

“Sure. It’s nice.” She said, and he leaned his head to the side a little as he smiled at her.

Simmons’ eyes widened and she slapped her hand against the glass.

“Hey! No!” She scolded, and they both jumped, turning to look at her again. “And what was that about flirting?” She demanded, and Coulson sighed, glancing at Skye. She shook her head at him.

“Nothing, Simmons, we just – ”

“I’m not an idiot, you know,” She put her free hand on her hip. “I’ve seen what you’ve been up to. Trying to see how far you can flirt before one of the team members notices. You know what’s going to happen? You’re going to go too far, and then the team _will_ notice, because the two of you will be going at it like you don’t have a care in the world!” Simmons was angry and scolding them, but Skye couldn’t help but bark out laughter, and Coulson squeezed his eyes closed.

“Get me out of here,” He groaned.

“Simmons, you can’t say things like that. He’s a very visual person,” Skye explained, in an innocent voice. “There are certain words he’s actually banned me from saying – which, now that you’ve discovered that thing about our voices, it kind of makes sense.”

“Skye,” Coulson warned.

“I can’t make any allusions to us having sex, no matter what terms I use. I particularly can’t say ‘sex’. I can’t talk about how sexy I find him, I can’t check him out unless he doesn’t realize I’m doing it, I can’t eat in front of him, I can’t dance, I can’t wear my red dress, and – oh, most certainly, I can’t say ‘Phil’.”

Coulson growled and grabbed her, turning to push her against the back wall, crushing his lips against hers.

“Say it again,” He breathed, “say it again.”

“But…” Skye gasped when he thrust against her. “I thought you didn’t _like_ me saying it,”

“No, no no no I do, I do,” Coulson whispered between heavy kisses. “I _like_ you saying it.”

“Phil,” She repeated, somewhat hesitantly, and he sighed happily before kissing her deeply. Feeling a little more confident about it now, she repeated his name again, and he hummed his approval, thrusting against her again. She moaned, and then –

Then they were being drenched with cold water, and they both yelped. Coulson wrenched himself away from her and moved to the entire other side of the room, pressing his back against the wall.

“See what I mean?” Simmons said over the sprinklers, her arms folded across her chest. “Stop playing with him, Skye. This is _serious_.”

Skye gasped for air, wiping water out of her eyes as it soaked through her hair and clothes.

“Damn it, Simmons!” Skye yelled, still feeling the way his body had felt pushing against hers.

“I don’t know what it is with you two picking the worst possible times to attach yourselves at the lips.” Simmons replied, as if none of this had been _her_ fault. Which, granted, most of it was Skye’s and Coulson’s, but what did Simmons expect, putting them in a room alone together?

Skye looked at Coulson again, soaked to the bone in his suit, and she felt bad that it would need some serious dry cleaning, now. And then she quite _liked_ rain-soaked Coulson in a suit, and she hit her fist against the glass in front of Simmons.

“If you don’t want us kissing, get me the hell out of here _now_.” Skye ordered, and Simmons quickly nodded, gesturing toward the door.

“Alright yes, we’re done for today.” Simmons agreed.

Skye didn’t see Coulson for two full days after that, and she was okay with that.

 

\-----

 

The first time Skye discovered that Coulson was a sleep-walker, it was because she had accidentally left her door unlocked.

She woke up only a couple hours after falling asleep, and the halls were dark and quiet, telling her that everyone else had gone to sleep as well. Remembering that she had fallen asleep before locking her door, she sat up to do so, and immediately pressed her hands tightly against her mouth to stifle the scream.

Coulson was just standing there, staring at her. Looking like he’d been there for a bit.

“What the _hell_ , Coulson!” Skye hissed, putting her hand over her furiously beating heart.

“I like watching you sleep,” He said calmly, and she frowned. His voice was a little odd, and he hadn’t moved at all in response to her almost-heart attack.

“You shouldn’t be in here,” Skye stood quickly, glad that she had fallen asleep in her clothes. She’d hate to know what would have happened had he come in here to find her wearing her _usual_ sleep attire….

“I haven’t touched anything,” Coulson promised her, still just standing there and watching her. She furrowed her brow, reaching her hand toward him slowly.

“I wasn’t worried that you would,” She said carefully. “Are you asleep, AC?” She asked, seeing the slightly glazed look in his eyes.

“I’m watching over you. I’m making sure you’re safe.” He said, as if that had been obvious. Skye smiled hesitantly, taking his hand in hers gently.

“Thank you,” She said, and he smiled, looking so pleased with himself. “But you shouldn’t be in here. You remember what we said? Our agreement?”

“Not to be alone together.” He frowned, put out. “I miss you.” The hand she wasn’t holding pressed against the side of her face, and she leaned into his touch a little.

“You should go back to your room,” She told him gently, and his frown deepened.

“I want to stay here,” He said, and she gently took his wrist to pull his hand away from her cheek, shaking her head slowly. “ _Please_.” She closed her eyes, knowing she’d be unable to tell him no with the way he was looking at her. “I just want to keep you safe.”

“I _am_ safe, Coulson.” She promised him, and he squeezed her hand, forcing her to open her eyes.

“Please.” He said again.

“As long as you sleep,” She warned him, and he nodded, looking relieved. She gestured toward her bed, her bed that was almost too small to hold two grown adults, and he crawled in immediately, pressing his back against the wall. Skye glanced at her door, and knew she didn’t want someone to barge in and see him in her bed. There was no way anyone would believe that he’d been sleep-walking, that he just wanted to sleep. Particularly Simmons. She locked the door, and then crawled in to bed next to him. As she maneuvered one of her pillows for him to use, he draped the sheet over her carefully. Looking at him carefully for a moment, she saw that he still had that glazed look in his eyes, and she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Goodnight, AC,” She said as she turned over, her back to him. He sighed and wrapped his arm around her, leaving no space between their bodies as he spooned around her.

“Goodnight, Skye,” He said happily, drowsily, and she felt his arm relax as he fell back asleep. She relaxed too, as the fear of losing control slipped away, and she snuggled against him, resting her hand against his arm.

When Skye awoke in the morning, she wasn’t surprised to find Coulson still there, his arms wrapped around her. She had turned in her sleep to face him, and their legs were tangled together. She was just reaching her hand to his forehead to brush his hair back when his eyes blinked open, and she felt his entire body tense.

“Skye,” He whispered, his voice filled with dread, and he was pulling away as much as he could in the small space. Skye quickly propped herself on her elbow, putting more space between them, trying to keep him from freaking out.

“Coulson,”

“Oh my God.” He was pushing the sheet away, trying to sit up, and Skye sat up as well and touched his shoulder.

“Wait, Coulson,” She said, and he leaned his back against the wall, covering his face with his hands.

“Oh, God,” His groan was muffled, and Skye forcefully pulled one of his hands away from his face.

“Coulson. It’s not what you think.” She told him, and he dropped his other hand in his lap to stare at her.

“It’s not? Then why am I in your _bed_ , Skye?” He snarked, and the look he had in his eyes _hurt_. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” He said, sounding anguished.

“Coulson! We didn’t – ” Skye lowered her voice, “we didn’t sleep together!” He gave her a dubious look. “I mean, we slept, but we didn’t, you know.” He gave her an agonized look.

“Are you sure?” He asked quietly, and she raised her eyebrow at him.

“Yes, I’m _sure_.”

He dropped his head back against the wall, relieved. Skye watched him carefully until his breathing calmed down.

“Why am I in here? I don’t even remember walking down this hall last night.” Coulson wondered, looking back at her. She bit her lip, and he frowned.

“I think you were sleep-walking,” She admitted. He narrowed his eyes, thinking.

“I don’t sleep-walk.” He said, and she shrugged, fiddling with the edge of the sheet.

“I’ve never seen someone sleep-walk before, but I’m pretty sure that’s what was happening,” Skye told him, and he seemed to be thinking some more.

“Don’t you usually lock your door at night?” He finally said, and she nodded.

“Yeah, usually, but I accidentally fell asleep,” She gestured toward her clothes. He nodded, his brow still furrowed as he was deep in thought. “Coulson…” She began slowly, not wanting him to leave, but knowing he should before anything else happened.

“I didn’t … do anything weird, did I?” Coulson asked her, and she smiled lightly and shook her head.

“No, though you did scare the _hell_ out of me when I woke up to find you standing there staring at me.”

“Ah, jeez,” Coulson groaned, dropping his head into his hands. Skye grinned and punched his shoulder lightly before getting out of the bed.

“You told me you were watching over me,” Skye explained as he moved to the edge of the bed to stand as well. He froze, his hands on the edge of the bed, and he gripped the mattress tightly. “You wanted to keep me _safe_ ,” Skye slightly teased him.

“Is that why you let me stay?” He asked, trying to hide his embarrassment. Skye glanced away from him, embarrassed herself, but answering,

“Kind of. I did feel safe, with you here. It felt… nice.” She looked at him carefully, and he had that soft look on his face.

“It felt like… home, didn’t it?” He asked carefully; asking if she agreed with him. Her eyes felt watery as she nodded quickly, and he reached his arms out and pulled her toward him, hugging her tightly. His cheek pressed against her chest, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting her forehead against the top of his head.

They held one another like that until Skye remembered that she had Tai-Chi lessons, and they pulled apart carefully with soft smiles on their faces. Skye helped him sneak back down the hall, and they shared a grin before heading off in opposite directions. If May noticed the difference in how awake and _glowing_ Skye was this morning, she didn’t speak up about it.


	14. Chapter 14

Warm fingers brushed against the cool skin of her exposed belly.

It happened a lot, really; her tank-top would get twisted and ride up a little as she moved about in her sleep. It was accidental temptation that she couldn't hold against him. Besides, his warm hand resting against her skin felt _really_ good.

"AC," She whispered, assuming he'd found himself in her room again because of his sleepwalking. He drew small circles on her skin, and she turned her head to look at him.

It was interesting, how innocent and curious he was in his sleep. It was very much the opposite of the frantic, desperate motions they sometimes found themselves in during the day, and she had figured it would have been the other way around.

"Soft," He said with quiet wonder, and she nestled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Tucking his arm under her, he pulled her even closer and rested his other hand high on her hip, caressing his thumb against her skin slowly. She sighed happily and fell back asleep rather quickly, feeling comforted and a sense of _home_.

When she woke up in the morning, he was gone, but there was a lingering warmth against her skin, and once again she found herself smiling as she changed and went to meet May for Tai-Chi.

 

… … …

 

"You should probably stop leaving your room unlocked at night." Coulson advised her, appearing in her office just before lunchtime. She turned from her bookshelf, furrowing her brow at him. "I don't want to wake up one morning and find myself..." He hesitated. "Having taken advantage of a situation."

"That's not going to happen," Skye insisted, and he stepped further into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"You don't _know_ that," he argued, "I keep waking up and finding myself in your room with no memory how I got there! No memory of what happened _after_ I got there!"

" _I_ know, Coulson, and I would stop you if we took things too far,"

"Would you?" Coulson demanded quickly, and she narrowed her eyes at him for a moment.

"It's different," She tried to explain. "It's not like during the day, when we're both awake and fully aware of each other."

"That's what I'm _afraid_ of," Coulson said pointedly, and she shook her head.

"No, it's _good_ different. Not that I don't like our hot and heavy moments," she added, and he sucked in a deep breath, "but it's... Sweeter. Calmer. More... Innocent." He stared at her for a few moments, not quite believing her.

"Not that I think you would lie about this, but - "

"I haven't taken advantage either, have I?" She pointed out, folding her arms across her chest. "It's different for me, too. I've never felt the... Same kind of _wanting_ , not like I do during the day sometimes. It's _simple_. It's just wanting you _there_ , and then you are," She trailed off, realizing what she just said.

"Do you think..." Coulson looked at her curiously. "Is _that_ why I'm sleepwalking? You're... Calling me?"

"That's psychic stuff. I thought you said that didn't exist." Skye said, slightly scared by that thought.

"It doesn't. But maybe it has to do with the hormones and stuff Simmons has been obsessing over lately," He replied.

"But my dreams," she glanced at him hesitantly, and he sat himself down in a chair, folding his hands carefully in his lap. "My dreams aren't always so, uh, innocent." She quickly hurried on so neither of them would get stuck on that subject, "If I'm 'calling you' in my sleep, wouldn't you think our, uh, interactions would be more, uh,"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you." Coulson interrupted softly. "I don't want that to happen."

_I like waking up with your arms around me._

She wouldn't say that out loud, she would not. Regardless of any 'previous affection before the serum', that didn't mean he had been _that_ affectionate toward her. Wanting to wake up next to a person everyday was far more than just 'mutual affection', and she didn't want to freak him out.

"You don't want us to..." She couldn't help that one, and she hated the disappointment in her voice. His whole expression softened and he was out of the chair and holding her against him, running his hand across her hair gently.

"That's not what I meant," He assured her, "of course that's not what I meant." She fisted her hands in his shirt, taking deep breaths so she didn't so something stupid; like cry. He pulled away carefully and placed his hands on either side of her face. "Don't think it's because I don't want you. I _do_ want you, Skye, so much it hurts." He said earnestly, and she bit her lip. He stroked his thumb across her cheek, catching a tear.

"But,"

"I can't stand the thought of us making love solely because of this stupid serum, because we lost control. Or, worse - one or both of us _not remembering_ it happening."

_Making love._

"I've wanted this for far too long for it to not be _proper_ , for it to not be _us_ and completely _us_."

"Oh, _Phil_ ," Skye pressed her forehead against his chest, overwhelmed, and she figured because she was crying, he didn't freak out over her using his first name. His arms circled around her, and he pressed his cheek against the top of her head, holding her as tightly as he could without hurting her.

After a few minutes, she pulled her head back to look at him sheepishly.

"I'm going to miss waking up in your arms," She admitted. "And God, that sounds cheesy, but,"

"I'm going to miss it too," He softly interrupted her, and they smiled at one another.

"You're right, though," Skye sighed, pressing her ear against his chest, "during the night it's fine but once we're both awake... The temptation could get too much. I think the biggest thing that's kept me in check is the fear of being late to Tai-Chi again."

Coulson chuckled, rubbing her back a little before pushing her away lightly.

"Fear of May is what keeps us all in check, I think," He joked, and Skye grinned as she gathered herself together, wiping at her face. Coulson reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, leaning forward and pressing his lips against her forehead for just a moment. "Keep your door locked," he said again before leaving, "we'll figure this out. I still believe that."

"I do too." Skye assured him, and he flashed her a small smile before leaving her office.

She stood there for a moment, looking off into space. _Making love._ It _did_ mean something to him; it was more than just lust or serum or opportunity. She couldn't stop a smile forming on her face at that thought, and she settled behind her desk, getting back to work.


	15. Chapter 15

At the end of the week, Skye was comfortably lounged in the recliner in Coulson’s office, curled up with her tablet in her lap. They hadn’t had any major mishaps this past week, and they were pretty pleased with themselves. Coulson was much more comfortable having her alone in his office again, and he felt better not having to drag Simmons around like a babysitter.

“I’ve found a number of files that referenced TAHITI, already. You should have them in your inbox.” Skye told him, and he glanced up at her and nodded, swiping through some of the files on his desktop.

“I see them. Thanks, Skye,” He said appreciatively, and she shrugged.

“Like I said, this is your stuff. Besides… I don’t know if I _want_ to know everything about TAHITI…” She admitted quietly, and Coulson closed his eyes with a pained look on his face.

“I’m sorry,” He murmured, thinking of the video that had really started everything so many months ago. Skye shook her head at him, leaning forward.

“It’s not _you_ , AC, it’s – I’m not worried about what _you_ may have done. I’m worried about what _they_ may have done _to_ you.” Skye informed him seriously, and he pondered her for a moment.

“I’m sorry, Skye, but no matter how many times you insist that you aren’t angry with me – I just can’t understand how you can be so concerned for me when clearly I’ve done a lot of bad things.” Coulson replied.

“Because it’s quite obvious that you regret those things!” Skye argued. “You aren’t making up excuses, or pretending that you’ve never made a bad choice, or continuing to make the same mistakes over and over again – you’ve _changed_. Instead of letting those choices define your life, you used them to become a better man.” Skye softened her tone and added, “How can I _not_ love you for that?”

Coulson stared at her, a myriad of expressions on face; hope, fear, nervousness, joy. Skye gave him a hint of a smile, the corners of her mouth lifting up just slightly.

“You love me,” He acknowledged quietly, and Skye sighed and smiled wider.

“Of _course_ I do, you idiot.”

The fear and nervousness slipped away and a wide grin broke out across his face.

“So it’s mutual, then?” She asked, and he regarded her in surprise.

“Of course – I thought I’d said as much when we spoke in your office the other day?”

“When we agreed that I should double-check my door lock every night?” Skye asked incredulously. “That was – I wasn’t _sure_ , not one-hundred percent…”

“Oh, Skye, I’ve loved you since… I feel like I’ve loved you since I’ve _known_ you.” He sighed, and Skye bit her lip. “Come here,” He asked, and she stood and set her tablet down, moving behind his desk. He rested his hands on her hips gently and pulled his chair closer to her, staring up at her with a soft smile on his face. “When have I _not_ loved you?” He wondered softly, and she leaned down to kiss him.

Her kiss didn’t demand or submit. It invited, lured, gave, and accepted – it was a kiss that was all Skye, and it was the most wonderful thing that Coulson had ever experienced. A warm and light feeling filled his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her even closer to him, hugging her with his whole body. He responded to her kiss, but he let her keep control of it.

“So much,” Skye whispered, pulling her lips away and resting her forehead against his, sounding frightened. “So much.”

“It’s okay,” He soothed, rubbing his hands against her back. He wished he could tell her that he would never leave her, that she would never lose him, but they both knew that wasn’t realistic. Not in their line of work. “As long as I’m alive, I’m yours,” He promised her instead, moving his hands to cradle her jaw, pulling their bodies apart just enough so they could look one another in the eye. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears, but he knew that it was from happiness. “I don’t know how long that will be, Skye, but – God, I hope it’s for a _really_ long time.”

She laughed shortly and leaned in to kiss him again. His hands returned to her waist and she dropped kisses tenderly on every part of his face. Starting with his bottom lip, then the corner of his mouth where he was fighting off a smile, the tip of his nose, the center of his brow, and ending with the outside corner of his eye, where his laugh-lines were more prominent. He hummed pleasantly and she returned her lips to his mouth, kissing him longer there.

She braced her hands on his thighs as she deepened the kiss slowly, her tongue dipping into his mouth and then retreating, asking him to follow. He accepted her silent request wholeheartedly, and ran the tip of his tongue along the roof of her mouth. She sighed against him and leaned her head to the side, kissing him harder, taking them to the verge of some cliff between tender and rough, between affectionate and dirty.

This time, he could feel it creeping in. The _otherness_. It touched the edges of his consciousness, pressed against his senses as if it were testing before it tried to take control.

Skye’s fingers were digging into his thighs, and he could feel the heat curling low in his body, the arousal building slowly but steadily. Still, he felt like he was in control, the otherness hadn’t taken over yet, and he was too pleased by this knowledge to want to stop, now. He nipped at her lower lip, dragging his teeth across her skin, and she gasped.

“ _Phil_ ,” The sound was from the back of her throat, and he growled lowly in response. The next thing he knew he had her sitting on top of his desk, her legs wrapped around his waist, his mouth on her neck. She pushed his jacket off of his shoulders, running her hands along his back as he thrust against her, his arousal rather prominent by this point.

She ran her hands through his hair, and he felt it again, the otherness pushing at him. It was more insistent this time, and he shook his head slightly, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. His hands froze at her knees, and as she felt him tense, she pulled her upper body away from him slightly.

“What is it?” She breathed heavily, trying to clear her head.

“Do you feel it?” He whispered, cautious. He was out of breath as well. “I can feel it…”

“I feel _something_ ,” Skye said suggestively, shifting her hips into his deliberately. He made a throaty sound and his grip on her legs tightened.

He wanted her. He wanted to _show_ her how much he loved her, how much she could be loved. He had the chance to do that _right now_ , but he couldn’t. Not with the threat of _it_ taking over. He wasn’t yet strong enough to fight it off, not once he was completely distracted by her. He could feel it waiting at the edges, waiting for that moment when he stopped being cautious and just focused everything on her.

He wasn’t sure that it was all that dangerous, but he was selfish in the fact that he wanted her for _himself_. Not even his… _other_ self, or whatever it was, could share that. Not yet. Not the first time.

“I should look into these files,” He said huskily, removing his hands from her legs slowly. He pressed his face into her neck, though, and breathed deeply while he forced his body to cool down.

“Yes,” Skye agreed with resignation, removing her legs from around his waist. She ran her hand through the back of his hair, caressing softly while they simply breathed together for a few moments.

He finally leaned back and looked her carefully in the eyes. Her pupils were still rather dilated, and he figured his probably were too, but her overall expression seemed calm. He smiled lightly and rested his hand against her cheek, and she turned her head to kiss his palm.

“I want to dig some more into The Wall,” Skye said, pulling her hands away from him. “I’ve got some theories… and I’ve been chatting with someone who might be able to help me out.”

If anything could dampen his mood, the fear that surged through him at that statement was certainly one of those things. He stepped back from his desk, giving her a wide-eyed, worried look.

“Who? What? The _team_ doesn’t even know about this; how can – ”

“Woah, chill AC,” Skye held her palms up toward him, sliding off the edge of his desk. “I’ve taken all the necessary precautions, and I’ve given no details.”

“But this person has _seen_ the symbols!” Coulson pointed out, his version of panic on his face.

“That’s _all_ they’ve seen! Trust me, they’re experienced with alien languages. All I asked was that they help me figure out what it says, or at the very least, what language it is.”

“What if it’s something _dangerous_?”

“What if it isn’t?”

“Skye…” Coulson groaned, running his hand across his eyes, and Skye folded her arms across her chest.

“No. Look, I know what I’m doing. I’ve been getting information from people practically my whole life – it’s _what I do_ , remember?” She raised her eyebrow at him, and he conceded to at least look at her while she explained. “I told them I stumbled across it in an abandoned building. They said they’d look into it. That was _it_.”

“And they didn’t ask the location of said abandoned building?” Coulson asked, and Skye narrowed her eyes wryly.

“You think I’d tell them where this place is? _I_ don’t even know where this place is!”

“Of course I don’t think that, Skye, but there are other hackers out there. People like you,”

“People _better_ than me – though, I have to say, that’s rare.” Skye said honestly, and Coulson raised his eyebrow. She shrugged.

“How do you know that this mysterious person isn’t just another hacker? Or a member of Hydra?”

“Oh, this person isn’t mysterious. She’s a scientist. Well, she works for a scientist. She’s really smart, though, and good with tech.” As Skye spoke, Coulson felt dread pooling in his stomach, even before he fully acknowledged the possibility of what Skye was suggesting.

“You know her?” He asked. Skye shook her head.

“Not personally. I know _of_ her, though, and I think you do, too. She’s been associated with SHIELD before.” Coulson raised his eyebrow again, and Skye grinned proudly. “I did a background check first, of course, before I even considered her.”

Coulson sighed heavily, and turned his chair around to sit in it, scooting it forward toward his desk. Skye stepped to the side out of the way, straightening her shirt and curving her hair behind her ears.

“Send me her details,” Coulson replied, and Skye threw herself into the recliner again as she picked up her tablet and flicked her finger across the screen. Coulson pulled open the file and stared at it for a few moments. _Of course._ He wasn’t really that surprised.

“Darcy Lewis.” He said, a hint of fondness mixed with frustration in his tone, as if he were speaking of the favorite child that always ended up getting into trouble. Skye frowned.

“You know her?” She asked quickly, and he nodded, looking through her file to see what she had been up to, since his death.

“Yes, the scientist she works with is Jane Foster. Jane Foster is a… connection to Thor.” Coulson explained, his eyes on his desk. Skye widened her eyes.

“As in… _dreamy_ Thor?” Skye breathed, and Coulson was the one who frowned this time. He looked up at her. “What?” She asked. “You were the one getting all fond over the intern – why can’t I get all fond over the superhero?” Coulson chuckled in bewilderment.

“ _Fondness_ is far different than _drooling_ ,” He pointed out, and she scoffed.

“I was not drooling.” She informed him.

“Anyway, you don’t need to worry about Ms. Lewis.” He told her, sounding amused, looking back toward his desk.

“What? I – I’m not _worried_ about ‘Ms. Lewis’,” Skye laughed dryly, looking to the side, and Coulson studied her closely. “Okay,” Skye bit her lip, squirming under his gaze, “Stop staring at me like that,”

“I knew her pre-death. You remember when I told you about my first 0-8-4 case? That it was a hammer, in New Mexico?” He asked, and Skye nodded. “That was our first interaction with Thor. Dr Foster and her team had run into him; my team and I intercepted. Let’s just say Dr Foster was not too fond of me for a while, since then.”

Coulson smirked a little, and Skye eyed him knowingly. That was his amused, proud smirk. He must have irked them a lot.

“Well,” Skye waited a beat, then shrugged. “Darcy Lewis has been sent an encrypted photo with no location data attached. I even made sure there weren’t any reflections or anything telling in the image itself. I’m just some alien-language enthusiast who hit a road block and asked for some help. She seemed eager and innocent.”

“Eager and innocent, sure.” Coulson said agreeably. “At first. Once she gets curious, she gets sharp. She’s very observant, and she’s a quick thinker. If she starts asking too many questions, you need to cut ties immediately. Don’t let her dig her heels in.” Coulson warned her, and she nodded, relaxing, a pleased look on her face.

“Thanks, AC,” She grinned at him. He closed out Darcy Lewis’ folder and pushed it to the side, focusing once more on the Level Ten files.

“If I find anything in these that I think may be helpful to you, I’ll send you copies.” Coulson said, and the two of them settled in to work.

The otherness was still there, ghosting around inside his head, at the edges of all of his thoughts. He glanced up at Skye, taking in her furrowed brow as she concentrated, and it prodded at him, reminding him of the current condition still somewhat present in his trousers.

He frowned, crossing his ankles and scooting further under his desk, forcing his entire focus onto his desktop and the files open in front of him.

He didn’t realize that his fingers were drawing invisible patterns on the desk beside him, keeping up a steady pace even as he lost sense of everything else around him and pored through the pages of information.


	16. Chapter 16

Skye sat in her office, focused intently on the papers scattered all over her desk. One computer screen was dedicated to her own research, one to her conversations with Darcy, and one displaying the photo she had taken of The Wall.

She had told Darcy about her idea that the scribbling was some sort of map, and Darcy had agreed, throwing out a bunch of ideas regarding that, including something that stuck out to Skye: a star chart.

She’d pulled another all-nighter last night, researching star charts and all the universes that humankind was only just beginning to discover.

Her head hurt.

_Darcy,_ Skye typed out, _Just pulled an all-nighter and need to catch some shut eye. Here’s some things I’ve discovered hacking a few SHIELD files… of course, none of this may be new to you, but I figured to send them to you just in case. Let me know what you think. Skye._

Skye sent the message, and let out a loud yawn, stretching widely in her chair. She stood and cracked her back, pausing to see if she would get an immediate reply from Darcy. When nothing popped up, Skye locked her computer down and slipped out of her office, locking the door as well.

She didn’t want to take any chances with one of the team accidentally coming across her research.

It was just past 3am, so Skye didn’t expect to see anyone else in the halls. She should have known that Coulson’s sleep-walking wouldn’t have stopped, just because she had locked her bedroom door.

She had just turned down the hall that led to all of their rooms, and he was walking toward her from the other direction. He looked like he’d just gotten out of bed; barefoot, sleep pants, a t-shirt, and disheveled hair. She paused, staring at him with concern when he didn’t stop until after he had passed her. He looked back toward her then, but his face was expressionless. He blinked at her, then turned and continued down the hall, a silent invitation for her to follow him.

“AC?” She called out in a whisper, and he didn’t respond. This was when she knew for sure that he was sleep-walking again, and she walked with him to make sure he didn’t hurt himself or anything. He didn’t once look over at her as they walked down the hall, and he led her to the storage room.

“AC,” She said again, her concern etching into her voice, and he moved to the back of the room. He stood in front of The Wall, and he pulled a pocket knife from his pocket.

She stared, open-mouthed, her voice dying in her throat, as he began adding lines and circles to the map. He paused for a moment, eyeing his work, and then moved to another section of the wall. All the while, his expression did not change. Skye was shocked, and a little scared, and couldn’t do anything other than stand there and watch him for the next few minutes.

When he stepped back to observe his work again, she suddenly reached forward and grabbed onto his shoulders, forcing him around to face her.

“Coulson!” She said loudly, refusing to acknowledge what she saw in his eyes. _What wasn’t his._ His pupils seemed elongated and his eyes were a deeper blue than she’d ever seen. They almost weren’t even _blue_ , anymore.

“Skye?” He said quietly, sleepily, his eyes returning to normal, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, pressing her head against his shoulder, into the crook of his neck. There was a clatter as the knife fell to the ground, and he slowly brought his hands up to her back, confused about what was happening. “What’s wrong?” He wondered, still sounding as if he had just woken up.

“You were sleep-walking,” She realized out loud, her fists clenching his t-shirt.

“I – really?” He wondered. “I thought I had stopped doing that…” He trailed off, realizing where they were. He slowly pulled away from her, and she was hesitant to let him go. She was frightened by what she had seen in his eyes; she didn’t want to see it again. “Skye, why are we in here?” He asked carefully, turning back around to look at The Wall. She resisted the urge to reach out toward him again.

“I don’t know,” She whispered, staring at his back. She didn’t want to look at The Wall again.

“Skye.” He said after a moment. “Did _I_ do this?” He reached his hand out toward The Wall, a look of wonder on his face.

A completely different reaction than he had the first time she had shown him The Wall.

She reached out and snatched his hand away before he could touch it.

“Don’t!” She said quickly, unsure of where her fear came from, but quite certain that she didn’t want him to touch it. He turned back toward her, confused, still disoriented, and she held his hand tightly.

“Let’s go back to bed, AC,” She said, her voice wavering as she tried to relax. His eyebrows pulled together for a moment in a frown, but then he nodded and allowed her to lead him by the hand.

They were silent as they headed down the hall; Skye trying to organize and gather her thoughts, and Coulson wondering just how often he’d been sleep-walking.

He entered his room first but she followed him in, shutting the door behind them.

“Skye,” He began, but she shook her head at him, pulling his reading chair over to the side of the bed, pointing toward the tangled sheets.

“I’m going to watch over you, AC.” She spoke softly, but her underlying tone and facial expression told him not to argue. He got back into bed as she settled herself on the chair, and he turned so that he was facing her.

“Thank you,” He whispered, so quietly that she almost missed it. She leaned forward to brush his hair smooth, and rested her hand there for a moment. She managed to quirk a quick smile at him, and he closed his eyes.

She leaned back into the chair, tucking her limbs tight against her body, curling up into the chair and resting her head against the armrest so she could watch him.

 

\-----

 

It was seven o’clock when Skye awoke to the smell of coffee being brewed, but she didn’t even care that she had completely missed Tai Chi.

As soon as she opened her eyes and saw Coulson’s empty bed, she remembered what had happened, and she sat up quickly in the chair. Her joints popped, and she winced.

“Here,” Coulson stood next to her chair, holding out a mug. She took it from him carefully, looking him closely in the eyes.

“How are you feeling this morning?” She asked gently, and Coulson looked worried for a moment before schooling his features.

“Like every other morning. Normal.” He shrugged. “Well, it was a little different waking up and seeing you in here.” He smiled lightly, but she couldn’t respond the humor. She was already thinking about all the implications and complications of this new discovery.

Coulson moved back toward his coffee maker, pouring himself a mug, and Skye sipped hers gently, knowing she’d need the caffeine to get through the rest of the day.

They had a lot of work to do.

“We need to talk to Simmons.” Skye said seriously. Coulson turned toward her, looking like he was about to argue, and she shook her head, leaning forward in the chair. “No, Coulson – this is _serious_. That video you showed me; you had mentioned hypergraphia. Among other things – other things that sounded _dangerous_. If you’re starting to show symptoms…”

“Maybe May will get to put two in the back of my head, after all.” Coulson snarked with a frown, and Skye glared at him.

“This stays with Simmons, unless she thinks we’ll need the others to help cure you.”

“I thought you didn’t like secrets,” Coulson pointed out.

“This is your _life_ ,” Skye gritted her teeth, standing up. She would have crossed her arms if she hadn’t been holding the coffee mug. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you alive.” She gave him a hard look, and he relaxed his stance.

“I’m sorry. I just…” If she hadn’t been looking so closely, she would have missed the fear that flashed through his eyes. She set her mug on the corner of his desk and moved toward him, her gaze softening.

“I am too.” She told him, reaching to grasp his free hand. “Let’s call Simmons,” She said softly, tugging him gently toward his desk. He nodded and moved to sit in his chair, sighing and squaring his shoulders before picking up his phone. Skye picked up her tablet where she had left it in ‘her’ recliner, and sat across from him at his desk. As he asked Simmons to meet him in his office immediately, Skye pulled open her messaging system. Surprisingly, she had a reply from Darcy already.

_Skye. Wow, girl, you are talented. Some of these files are Level Ten! Even with SHIELD fallen, we’ve had trouble reaching even Level Six stuff. Anyway, yeah, a lot of this is actually research from Jane, but it’s still helpful to us. Going on the assumption that these are star charts, I sent that photo to Jane to have her input. She’s much more familiar with the cosmos, in that sense – and who knows, maybe she can get the god of thunder to help her out._

Skye caught her breath, hoping that she wouldn’t lose control of the situation. Everything would be fine, as long as nothing led back to Coulson….

_I haven’t found anything similar to this writing in my circles, though. I don’t know how you managed to stumble upon a brand new language, but… I think that’s what we have here. New to us, anyway. I’m realizing every day that we are “puny” and “young” and “like children” and – geez, what I would give to live in an apartment away from Jane when her boyfriend is in town. He is so pompous sometimes, I don’t know how she handles it. Don’t get me wrong; he’s also pretty awesome, and – okay, I’m mostly talking about his arms, there._

_Anyway, thanks for the files. At this point, I’m picking out all the names of alien races, and hitting up the best search engine there is – the all-knowing Google. How about you take the last few in the list, I’ll stick to the first few, and we’ll see if we come up with something?_

_Short of asking Thor for help, we’re kind of at a wall right now._

_Oh, haha, that was a nice pun. Wish I’d meant to do that on purpose._

Skye downloaded and saved the list that Darcy had sent her, hoping that one of them came across something. Without knowing which language this was, they were going to have _a lot_ of trouble trying to translate it.

“Well, it is something rather technical… So probably a very intelligent species.” Skye murmured to herself. That knocked out a few races on her list, so it was a start.

“Simmons is on her way,” Coulson said resignedly. “Have you found something?”

“Not really,” Skye sighed. “Darcy is stuck, too. We’re basically crawling through every mention of an alien language, and cross-referencing them to the symbols on The Wall. No hits, yet.” Coulson frowned.

“Honestly, I’m a little surprised we haven’t found anything in any of these old SHIELD files. It’s rare to come across something that even the more secretive areas of SHIELD haven’t mentioned, before.” He admitted, and Skye raised her eyebrow at him.

“They’ve been hiding things from us for this long. I doubt we’ve found _everything_ SHIELD knows.” She said pointedly, and Coulson let out a dry laugh.

“I doubt we ever will.” He muttered, and they were silent for a few moments. Simmons broke it by barging into the room, a worried look on her face.

“What’s happened?” She asked quickly, shutting the door behind her and approaching the other chair next to Skye. She had her notebook clutched in her hands. Coulson glanced at Skye, and she gave him an encouraging nod.

“You’ll want to sit down, Jemma.” Coulson started.


	17. Chapter 17

Simmons had multiple notebooks full of her notes on the serum and on Coulson and Skye, by this point. And after they had told her about The Wall, she had insisted they move their conversation to the lab.

“Have you experienced any problems speaking? Being able to read something that you know is written in English? Understanding other people speaking English?” Simmons asked.

“Sometimes I’m pretty sure _you_ aren’t speaking English, even when you insist that you are.” Coulson replied dryly, earning a glare from both Simmons and Skye.

“This is serious, AC. She needs to make sure you aren’t going to lose your mind and _die_ ,” Skye folded her arms across her chest, and Coulson sighed.

“No signs of aphasia. No signs of catatonia – as far as I know.” He told them, and Simmons looked at Skye.

“I haven’t seen anything like that, either. Just the sleep-walking and the – what did you call it?”

“Hypergraphia.” Simmons said, writing in her notebook. She looked back up at Coulson. “At the first sign of _anything_ suspicious, I need to know _immediately_.” She warned him, glancing at Skye as well. They both nodded. “Has this writing been found anywhere else? Skye, have you been experiencing the same symptoms?”

“I haven’t seen it anywhere else. I would assume not, since Koenig hasn’t come running to us babbling about alien languages appearing on the walls of his base.” Skye replied. “And no, other than the pheromone stuff and all that, I haven’t been sleep-walking or writing on walls.”

Coulson looked relieved, and he reached out for her hand. She threaded her fingers between his and gave him an encouraging smile.

“It’ll be okay, AC. We won’t let anything happen.” She promised him.

“Still keeping secrets from the team, I see. Or is it just me, again?” May was standing in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest. She did not look the slightest bit amused.

Skye pulled her hand away from Coulson’s, acting as if holding his hand had been a simple friendly gesture. Coulson frowned at May.

“Doctor-patient confidentiality.” He said, and May scoffed.

“And Skye?” She said pointedly, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind her. “What’s going on? Both of you have been acting strange for months, now. You missed Tai-Chi, this morning, Skye, and I would have let that go. But I just talked to Trip and he said you missed training this morning, as well.” May eyed all three of them. “Not to mention the fact that every time I see Simmons looking at either one of you, she has a level of concern on her face that she usually only reserves for Fitz.”

“I – I’m concerned for all of you…” Simmons argued feebly, looking a little embarrassed. May softened her tone toward the scientist.

“There’s nothing wrong with worrying over Fitz, Simmons.” May said a little softer, and then looked back toward Coulson, her tone sharp again, “But there _is_ something wrong when I see you observing our Director, taking notes, running tests – and what the hell is with that big empty room with all the windows?”

Skye blushed and looked at the floor.

“May,” Coulson warned, “This does not concern you,”

“It _does_ concern me, Phil!” May interrupted. “I promised Fury that I would have your back. I meant it. And if there’s something going on that could be _dangerous_ for you, I am concerned! You are my _friend_.” She reminded him.

“I’m not in danger, May,” Coulson sighed, sounding tired. “There are just some… mild side-effects that Simmons wants to study for the sake of figuring out the serum. Nothing dangerous.” May did not look convinced.

“You forget that _I_ was the one who found that communications between you and Fury. I _know_ the side-effects of the serum.”

“ _Those_ aren’t the side-effects I’m talking about,” Coulson said quickly, still trying to keep his tone calm. Skye and Simmons both realized that he still didn’t want May to know about the hypergraphia, so they kept their mouths shut. Simmons closed her notebook and wrapped her arms around it against her chest, watching the conversation closely.

May frowned, and Skye resisted the urge to move closer to Coulson.

“There are more side-effects?” She asked, and Coulson glanced toward Skye.

“It seems so.” He said, taking just a second longer to return his gaze toward May. She narrowed her eyes and looked at Skye.

“A while ago you mentioned spontaneously combusting from sexual frustration. I thought you guys were joking about something…” She looked perturbed. “You weren’t?”

“Well,” Simmons laughed nervously, “He wouldn’t _literally_ spontaneously combust. However…” Simmons looked toward Coulson for permission to continue, and he sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

“Something in the serum is causing Skye and I to… react to one another in a very…” Coulson tried to explain, and Skye rolled her eyes and interrupted,

“AC and I find ourselves, from time to time, wanting to rip each other’s clothes off and do it against a wall.”

May stared at them for a few moments, waiting to make sure that they weren’t messing around. Coulson had closed his eyes and was breathing rather heavily.

“This is not the most fortunate of circumstances.” Simmons put in.

“It could be very fortunate, depending on your viewpoint of sex.” May commented, leaning against the corner of a desk. “Maybe you just need to _loosen up_ , Director.” Coulson opened his eyes to glare at her.

"As you are aware," Coulson continued to glare at her, "We don't know how GH-325 works. We don't know what would happen if we were to..."

"Consummate the marriage?" May supplied, and Coulson's lip twitched as he restrained himself from yelling at her.

"Marriage?" Skye's swallow was audible, and Coulson turned to her, shaking his head. Simmons spoke before he could, however.

"With the new supplies Fury has sent us, I was able to dig a little deeper into the blood samples you gave me," Simmons explained, looking softly at Skye. "Director Coulson's is male DNA, even if it is not quite human, and yours is - "

"Mine just conveniently happens to be the female that was bonded to that particular male." Skye finished dryly, and Simmons looked apologetic.

"Not exactly. I believe that the DNA itself changed slightly according to each of your bodies. And because you are the only two sporting this DNA in your systems, it made sure that it would be able to… populate." Simmons shrugged lightly.

“So the DNA started out the same, and then changed once it entered our bodies?” Skye furrowed her brow, a little freaked out.

"Do you know the type of alien, yet?" Coulson asked with a sigh, wanting to change the direction of the conversation a bit. Skye was the one who answered.

“Oh, I might be able to answer that one. Darcy had mentioned something about Jane being unhappy because Thor had to go back to Asgard for an emergency, something about an infinity stone or something?”

Coulson’s breath froze and he stared at Skye with wide eyes. She continued, not noticing his strong reaction.

“Anyway, she said he’d mentioned an alien race she’d never heard of before. Kree, I think it was. I haven’t had the opportunity to look into it, yet, but I remember Lady Sif mentioned to you – ”

“A blue alien. Kree.” Coulson breathed. May frowned.

“You asked Sif about blue aliens?” May asked quickly, and Coulson glanced at her.

“Of course I did. I was concerned, for obvious reasons. She said that there were many species that had blue skin, however ‘Kree’ was one of the ones she mentioned by name.”

“And Skye knows everything you know, I assume.” May said, sounding unsurprised.

“Of course.” Coulson said, as if that would be obvious. Then his tone became sharper when he asked her, “What do you know about the Kree?”

“Nothing,” May replied immediately, “that was not mentioned in any files I had seen. It was always referred to as ‘The Guest’. But,” She stood up straight. “I know who could at least point us in the right direction.” Coulson nodded toward her and she disappeared to make a phone call.

“Glad she’s finally helping supply more than just her jokes,” Skye muttered, still a little embarrassed, and Coulson smiled lightly in agreement, though it didn’t reach his eyes.

“She’s probably trying to locate Dr. Streiten. Can you see if you can find anything on the Kree?” Coulson asked Skye, and she nodded, brushing her hand against his cheek.

“I’m on it,” She said with determination, and when she left the room he still felt the warmth of her hand pressed against his skin.

“Sir…” Simmons spoke up hesitantly, and Coulson turned to face her. “It is very relieving to hear that you aren’t experiencing any of the other symptoms from the procedure, but…”

“The hypergraphia is worrisome,” Coulson agreed. “And coupled with my sleep-walking, it could become dangerous. Unfortunately, I don’t always recall that I have left my room, so I can’t necessarily let you know if it’s happened again.”

“You don’t always recall? Sometimes you remember?” Simmons wondered, and Coulson hesitated.

“Not… exactly. Sometimes I just wake up… in a different room.” The embarrassed look on his face made Simmons frown and fold her arms across her chest.

“You mean you wake up in _Skye’s_ room. Sir,” She scolded, “If you’ve been having sex, I need to know! That could cause an extreme change in either of your biological makeups!”

“We haven’t had sex!” Coulson hissed, as if someone would hear them. “I just woke up in her room a few times, is all. And she and I have already discussed it – she’s been keeping her door locked, now.”

“If you are seeking one another out like that, it means the attraction is becoming stronger. It’s probably going to become more dangerous to stifle it.”

“I’ve… I’ve felt things.” Coulson admitted, and Simmons furrowed her brow.

“What… do you mean?” She asked hesitantly.

“Like, something _else_ was… in my head. While we’re… well, we still kiss, occasionally,” Coulson said hurriedly, “But sometimes I feel something _different_ just… pushing. It’s hard to explain. But it’s like there’s something else in my head with me, and it’s waiting for me to stop being so careful.”

“Waiting to do what?”

“Maybe… take advantage? I don’t know. It scares me,” He admitted, “But not because I think it’s dangerous. It’s just… different.”

“You don’t feel threatened by it?” Simmons was writing furiously in her notebook. Coulson shook his head.

“Honestly, no I don’t. It’s just… creepy. It’s not quite like having another consciousness in my head, it’s nothing as complete as that.”

“It’s like having a primal instinct separate from yourself.” Simmons guessed, and Coulson lifted his eyebrows and nodded slowly.

“Sort of, yes.” He realized.

“Can you let me know whenever you feel it? What sort of situations it most presents itself in? What’s happening around you, what emotions you’re feeling…?” Simmons asked, and Coulson nodded.

“I can do that. Do you think it’s the alien? That even though it’s a part of me, now – it’s also still something separate?”

“Perhaps,” Simmons said slowly, as she thought out loud. “For now. Perhaps it is waiting for something to happen so that it won’t be separate anymore.” She looked straight at him. “It’s waiting to complete the bond.”

“The bond with…” Coulson looked perturbed.

“With her. With you. Her own bond with her mixture of DNA. Any of those possibilities. This is all hypothetical, of course. I’m just thinking out loud.” Simmons told him softly, and he nodded slowly, staring at the floor as he thought.

“Maybe that’s why I’m not actively going crazy.” He said suddenly, looking back toward her. “Because it’s still sort of a separate entity. It’s protecting me because my humanness is too weak to handle whatever it is.”

Simmons looked concerned.

“You are identifying with it? Sir, you shouldn’t attribute human qualities toward something that isn’t human,” She warned carefully.

“But it is, isn’t it?” Coulson stood up, looking determined. “Just as I am now part alien, it is also now part human. I’m changing it just as much as it’s changing me. I should tell Skye…”

Simmons watched him leave the lab, adding to her notebook, _Keep close watch over Director Coulson. Has begun to accept this ‘other part of himself’._

Garrett had accepted _his_ ‘other part’, and look how _that_ had turned out. Simmons hoped that Coulson’s goodness would keep the alien part of him good, as well.


	18. Chapter 18

He found her in his office, curled up in the one of the chairs in front of his desk with her tablet in her hands. She had a troubled look on her face.

“I may need to ask Darcy about the Kree…” She said, acknowledging his presence without looking up. He sat down in the chair next to her, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. She’s going to ask why you’re focusing on them. And you certainly can’t tell her that Lady Sif mentioned to Agent Coulson the Kree…”

“Yeah,” Her frown deepened as she thought. “Maybe…” Her eyes lit up, and she got to her feet and moved behind his desk, pulling open one of the drawers and rifling through it.

“Hey,” He sat up straight, watching her, “What are you…” She pulled out a notepad and a pen, sliding them across the desk toward him.

“Scrawl the symbols on this. I’ll take a photo of it, create a fake document from a couple years ago. We can make it a ‘For Director’s Eyes Only’ file, so it would make sense why I didn’t come across it at first.” Skye explained, and Coulson admired her for a moment. When he picked up the pen, however, he hesitated.

“I don’t know if I _can_ , on my own.” He admitted. “Not without making it appear obviously fake.” Skye walked back around to stand next to him, biting the corner of her lip as she thought.

“Right… we’ll need it to say _something_ sensible, even if it isn’t a map like the one on the wall…”

“We could wait, until tonight. See if I sleepwalk again, and I could write on this instead of the wall.” Coulson suggested, and Skye shook her head.

“I don’t really want to wait all day just for that, especially if it isn’t certain that you _will_ sleep-walk again. Is there anything that is guaranteed to make your… alien half show itself?” Skye asked, and Coulson glanced away, clearing his throat.

“Well, I did just tell Simmons…” He glanced up at Skye, looking embarrassed, and she sat back down in her chair. “When we’re kissing, after a while, if I let it go too far, I start to… feel the, other,” He frowned, gesturing vaguely toward his head. Skye widened her eyes in realization.

“The other day, when we were in here, you said you felt something,” She said, and he nodded. “That was the… you felt the other consciousness inside you?”

“It’s not exactly that defined. But, yes, there’s another _awareness_. Simmons described it as a ‘primal awareness’.”

“This isn’t just an excuse for us to make out, right?” Skye mused, a hint of a smile in her eyes. Coulson smirked and shook his head.

“Do I need an excuse for that?” He replied, and she laughed.

“Okay,” She said, “So how are we going to do this? I mean, I think we should set some parameters. We’re doing this to see if we can get your guy writing. I don’t want us to get carried away.”

“I don’t think ‘ _my guy_ ’ shows up because he wants to write,” Coulson said dryly. “It’s just what ends up happening when he’s around and you aren’t.”

“Guys are all the same, no matter what species.” Skye rolled her eyes teasingly.

“You heard what Simmons said; the species just wants to survive…” Coulson said defensively, trailing off when he realized how ridiculous he sounded. Skye raised her eyebrow at him.

“Uh huh,” Skye said dubiously. “Alright, I guess it’s safe to say no clothes coming off.” Coulson pressed his lips together and nodded. “I’m not just telling you,” She added seriously, “I’m telling myself, too. If I start unbuttoning your shirt or something, stop me.”

“Easier said than done.” Coulson admitted, and she could tell he was imagining her unbuttoning his shirt. She snapped her fingers in front of his face, jarring him back to focus.

“I’m serious. We’re not even talking third base, buster.” She warned, and he nodded again, though there was a little smirk on his face. They were silent for a moment, and then Skye shifted in her seat. “So,” She chuckled a little nervously, “How do you wanna start – ”

He stood up and pulled her to her feet, pushing her against his desk and bracing his hands on either side of her as he leaned in close.

“You like the desk, huh?” She breathed, looking at his lips, her hands grasping his arms.

“We both do,” He said knowingly, his nose brushing against hers. She couldn’t really argue with that one.

He kissed her very slowly, taking his time, memorizing the way she felt, how she tasted. Her hands pressed all over his back, and he allowed her to explore his mouth the same way he had hers.

“I can’t wait to do this for real,” Skye murmured against his skin, trailing her lips all the way to the edge of his collar. He groaned and pressed his body against hers more firmly. “I could call you Phil as much as I want…”

“As loudly as you want,” He slid his tongue across the hollow of her throat as he kissed her there, and her snicker turned into a hum of agreement. Her hands moved to his hair and she was pulling him back up to her mouth, alternating between kissing him softly and sliding her tongue into his mouth. He groaned and slipped his fingers underneath the hem of her shirt.

“Hey,” She breathed, not very believable in her argument, “Clothes stay on,”

“It’s not off,” He said against her lips, sliding his hands under her shirt and molding his fingers around the curve of her breasts. She moaned and pushed into his hands, unable to keep herself from craving the feel of him.

“Cheater,” She muttered, but they smiled against one another. She ran her hands across his waist, tucking her fingers through his belt loops and tugging, even though it was impossible for him to be any closer to her. His hands slipped around to her back, holding her against him as he lifted her up slightly. She sat on the edge of his desk, squeezing her knees against his hips as he pressed against her. He was growing hard, again, faster than usual, and she rolled her hips a little.

“Mmm,” He sighed, the roughness of his voice sending heat through her body. She could feel her pulse beating rapidly, and her fingers were restlessly sliding against the buttons of his shirt.

“Coulson,” She breathed, and she bit her lip to keep from moaning too loud when he rocked his hips and pressed his face against her neck. After a moment she pulled him back up to her mouth, sliding her hands through his hair. There was a lot more kissing before they pulled apart enough to catch their breaths, and she could only describe the look in his eyes as _dangerous_.

The kind of dangerous that sent a shock of want through her body and had her reflexively tighten her legs around his waist. He breathed in deeply as he stared at her, and it took everything he had to pull a hand away from her hip, grabbing the pen blindly and sliding it across the paper.

He wrote quickly, wanting to fill up the page and get back to kissing her, and continued to keep his eyes on hers. She kept her body firmly wrapped around him, watching. With the look of concentration on her face, he almost would have thought that she was completely worried about whether the symbols would work – except then she licked her lips and glanced down at his mouth.

“Good enough,” He growled, pushing the pen and pad away and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close again. He wasn’t sure if it worked, or not, because nothing felt weird. He wasn’t fighting off any pressing _thing_ in the back of his mind; the only thing he was fighting was his own desire for her.

He knew that she was looking at the paper as he kissed her neck again, but he didn’t mind. He wanted to know if it had worked, he just wanted to kiss her, too.

“Coulson?” Her tone of voice made him pause, and he lifted his head to meet her eyes. She just looked at him for a few breaths, and then said, “I think you might be able to steal third.”

He smiled, let out a little sigh, and kissed her almost sweetly. She followed his lead, so was surprised when his fingers were suddenly pressing against her, applying friction with the fabric of her pants. She breathed in sharply, and then hummed with appreciation when his tongue was in her mouth, following the movements of his fingers.

“Door, lock.” He ordered as her hands reached for his belt buckle.


	19. Chapter 19

**_We need her._ **

Coulson jerked in his sleep, frowning deeply and rolling onto his side. His sheets were already bunched around his legs, as if he’d been thrashing for a while.

_No. No!_

He wanted to fight it, to push it away, but it only became more soothing and gentle.

**_Go to her._ **

“No,” Coulson muttered, waking himself up with another jerk. He stared at his bedroom door with a wide-eyed, intense look.

**_We need her._ **

 

\-----

 

“What do you think, Simmons? This look legit enough?” Skye gestured toward her computer screen, and Simmons leaned in to study the file she had opened.

“Is this something Director Coulson has done?” Simmons asked, looking confused. Skye nodded.

“Yes, he did this yesterday. I’m creating a fake ‘original’ sighting of these markings, and attaching something to do with the Kree on it. Then I’ll pretend I’ve only just discovered this, and send it off to Darcy. That way she’ll be focusing more on the Kree, without having to know the intel came from Coulson.”

“Did he do this on command? I thought these ‘episodes’ were something he couldn’t predict or control?” Simmons’ tone was sharp; as was usual these days when she came across new information regarding the serum.

“He, um, we… no, it wasn’t exactly on command,” Skye turned back toward her computer and bit her lip.

_“Skye,” His relieved breath ghosted across her skin as he climaxed, not long after he’d made her do the same. He pressed his face into her neck, murmuring her name over and over again as she helped him through it, letting him down gently. “Skye,”_

“He forced himself to lose focus of fighting against it,” Simmons said in realization, nodding, not noticing Skye’s slightly reddened face. “He told me that’s when he feels it more strongly. How did it go?”

“ _Extremely well_ ,” Skye said, and then pinched her lips shut. Simmons gave her an odd look.

“Well… it looks real enough to me,” Simmons focused back on the computer screen again. “Though… perhaps I just haven’t seen these patterns as often as you have, but don’t they look a little different?”

Skye jerked her head up to the monitor, frowning.

“Where?” She asked, and Simmons pointed to the photo of the notepad.

“Can you pull up the picture of the one on the wall? And if you have the picture from that old operation we hacked into months ago,” Simmons trailed off as Skye pulled up the files, and they both looked from screen to screen.

It was immediately obvious that the photo taken from Ward’s feed during that old operation was exactly like a part of the pattern that had been written on the wall in the compound.

But Simmons was right; the notepad that Coulson had used yesterday was different.

“See how it’s heavier up at the top and to the right? I still have no idea what it _says_ , but it has to be something different from this one,” Simmons gestured toward the screens, “It just looks so different,”

Skye was silent as she looked thoughtfully between the pictures. She still had the original piece of paper from the notepad, and she picked it up from her desk, sliding her fingers across the markings carefully. There were indentations from where Coulson had been pressing the pen down so hard.

“This one has a whole lot of things clustered in the center, and widens out toward the edges…” Skye murmured, not noticing Simmons watching her stroke the paper fondly.

“Skye,” Simmons said after a moment, and her tone made Skye look up quickly.

“What?” She replied, preparing herself for either a reprimand or more overprotectiveness.

“Did Director Coulson write that after he kissed you?” Simmons asked calmly, carefully, and Skye stared up at her.

“What – uh… how did you know?” Skye furrowed her brows, and Simmons looked at the paper in her hands.

“You’re looking at that like it’s a love letter.”

The question was clear on both of their faces: _Is it?_


	20. Chapter 20

_Skye, how the hell did you manage to uncover a “Director’s Eyes Only” file???? You and I need to meet, girl._

_I made Jane make Thor look at that one; since it’s older, I figured he might recognize something about it a little easier than the one on the wall. Turns out I was right (high-five me! Seriously, we’re a great team. Can we have superhero names?) Seeing that file put a real frowny face on the big guy, though. I mean, he’s serious all the time anyway (I don’t know how Jane can deal with him, sometimes) but it really put him in a mood. Long story short (why does he always talk like he’s performing at the Globe?) he gave me a bit of a history lesson. And I think you will be really interested in what he said._

_Turns out, this writing is Kree. I know he had mentioned it before, and the name was in your half of the alien list, and it was also in this file you found – but I had to make sure it was legitimate. Thor was 100% sure on that one – it’s Kree writing. What confused him was that there was no record of the Kree ever being on Earth. Ever. He didn’t seem too happy to discover that they had been on Earth, unbeknownst to the Asgardians. He said that they were in a long, on-going war against another species called the “Skrull” (I think that’s what he said? Sounded like ‘skull’ with an ‘r’, anyway.) There was some sort of peace treaty, but like with everything these days there are people who don’t give a shit about the rules (heh, guilty). One of these fanatics was a Kree guy that started working with a seriously bad guy (Thor wouldn’t give me any names, the jerk), and that was the bit I mentioned earlier about the infinity stone he had to go back home about._

_I guess he’s afraid that our writer here that visited Earth was another crazy one like that, who had run away from their world and hidden on our planet. I sort of think he’s half right – especially after he sort of translated this paper for us._

_ Yes. Translation. _ _It’s not very good, it’s all very general, but he says that the idea of it is a message to a loved one. He says that the guy who wrote it is incredibly lonely. For decades he had been completely alone, and he misses his people and his family. Thor only shrugged at me, after that. Sometimes I hate how much he is picking up from human behavior._

_So! Theory! This mysterious writer of this message was not the only one of his kind to flee to Earth. Maybe they got separated, and he was trying to find his friend without announcing to the whole universe, “Hey, there are a couple of Kree, here. Don’t mind us.”_

_You know what would be really cool? If we found some more writing, that was written by the friend. What if the other one is actually his family, or something? His wife? I’m so into this. Retro-space-romance!_

_Or, you know, they could be two Kree warriors in cahoots and sending secret messages to one another about taking over the planet._

_Anyway. Sorry I couldn’t get anything else out of Thor as far as a translation. Turns out he didn’t pay too much attention in his language classes. I have to go – Jane wants me to accompany her to the Tower so if Thor leaves she’s not stuck with Tony again. If I get anything else out of him, I’ll let you know. Keep me updated from your end of things, Indiana Jones!_

_Ciao,  
_ _Darcy_

Skye reread the message three times before she leaned back into her chair. The writing was Kree. Which meant whatever was in Coulson’s head was Kree. Which meant that Mr. G.H. was Kree. Which meant….

_Sending secrets messages to one another about taking over the planet._

She had hoped that Darcy joking about it being romantic would stick with her. But no, of course not.

She had been told that she was a monster.

Maybe they had been right… and maybe Coulson was one, too.


	21. Chapter 21

“Is May back yet?”

Coulson turned around from his viewing screen when Skye barged into the room without preamble.

“I’m actually supposed to meet with her in just a few minutes. Why?” He took a step toward her, seeing the harried look on her face.

“Kree. Kree. It keeps popping up everywhere – it has to be it. And – and listen to this – that writing, it’s a _message_. I was right – _It’s a map_.”

“Woah, Skye, slow down,” Coulson put his hands on her shoulders as her words started running together.

“Coulson, the writing is _intended for someone_. It’s for another Kree to find.” There was fear in her eyes that put him on edge. The niggling feeling was back, at the base of his skull, making his spine itch.

“The species is trying to thrive, that’s what Simmons said, ” Coulson said thoughtfully, and Skye gave him a serious look.

“Or the species is trying to _take over_. Coulson,” She stepped out from under his hands and began pacing in front of him. “Darcy told me that Thor talked about a war, a battle between two species, and that there were Kree fanatics out there who didn’t believe in the peace treaty and still went about destroying people and planets. Coulson, what if _we’re_ like, spies? We’re being used to spy on the humans and see how advanced they are and how well they can defend themselves – ”

“Skye,” Coulson interrupted firmly, his voice causing her to stop pacing, “if that’s the case than they picked the two worst people in the world for that job. _We protect the Earth_. That’s what we do. From our standpoint, Earth _is_ defended, and _will_ fight back. If they wanted to fight the humans, they would have used people that don’t have a clue about outside worlds, about aliens, about gods.”

“Thor did say the one note was written to a loved one…” Skye said, calmer. “But what about the one on the wall? What about the one that we had found with those scientists?”

“You said it was a map. When you first pointed it out to me, you said it was a map with complete certainty. Even though you’d never seen writing like that before, ever.”

“Right,” Skye wondered where he was going with this.

“Skye,” Coulson reached for her hand, “I _read_ the message you forwarded to me. Yeah, Darcy can get a little ridiculous sometimes, but, given how we’ve been with each other? Maybe it _is_ a map… maybe he wants her to find him.”

Skye stared at him for a few long moments.

“I’m scared.” She admitted quietly. “I don’t want to be the monster they keep saying I am.”

“You _aren’t_.” He insisted. “You _aren’t_.” He pulled her toward him, and she didn’t hesitated before pressing her body against his, wrapping her arms around him tightly. After a minute, he felt her relax against him, and she sighed.

“Has the … um, _attraction_ been as apparent for you, lately?” She asked, turning her head to press her cheek against his shoulder.

“I’m always attracted to you,” Coulson replied, moving one of his hands to her hair. She chuckled against him.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“No,” He sighed, sounding relieved, “It hasn’t been nearly as incessant since – ” He cleared his throat, and she felt him shift his weight on his feet. She laughed.

“It’s okay, I won’t make you say it,” She teased lightly. She gave him a squeeze before pulling away. “Same for me. Though…” She gave him a look. “It _is_ hard not to think about, especially with your desk right _there_ and you right _here_ ,”

“ _Skye_ ,” He groaned, put out, and she pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek.

“Thank you, AC.” She said more somberly. “I’m sorry I went into panic mode on you. What she said just… it scared me.”

Coulson nodded and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger against her cheek.

“It scares me, too,” He admitted. “Every time I go to bed at night, I wonder if I’ll wake up in another room, standing in front of a wall full of symbols. Every time I feel the tingling in the back of my head, I wonder if this will be the moment I lose control…”

“AC,” Skye reminded him quietly, wanting to appease him, “Remember that your affections aren’t _unwanted_ ,”

“But I want it to be _me_ ,” He said quickly, frustrated, and Skye rested her palms against his chest.

“Are you really concerned that you would lose control in that way?” Skye asked carefully, her voice betraying her nervousness. Coulson shook his head and grasped her waist.

“No,” He insisted, “Not… completely, anyway. But what if I forget myself? I don’t want to play backseat if I go into trance-mode or something.” He frowned, and Skye smiled softly.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen.” She assured him. “I trust you.”

“But I don’t trust _him_.”

“Him?” Skye leaned her head to the side, looking at him carefully. A flash of guilt crossed his face.

“It’s… easier to refer to, in that way.” He looked away from her. “Simmons and I were talking about it a few days ago. She suggested that I’m reacting the way I am because it is waiting for a bond to happen. A bond between it and myself, between you and your version of the serum, between the two of us… I go into a trance because otherwise, my brain wouldn’t be able to handle everything that’s happening. And maybe that’s why I’m not showing any other signs than the hypergraphia. It’s keeping me safe.”

“It’s keeping you safe… it’s sentient, even disjointed from you?” Skye was still speaking very carefully, her eyes wide. Coulson hesitated a moment before nodding.

“Do you think I _am_ going crazy? This is my version of crazy?” He sounded fearful, and Skye slipped her arms around his back to hold him closer.

“No,” She said firmly, looking him directly in the eye, “I don’t think you’re going crazy. In fact… what you said explains a lot, honestly. It’s hard to believe, but with the things that I’ve learned in the past year… aliens are a real thing. A scary, beyond-our-comprehension real thing. At the very least, we should be allowed to hope that our particular brand of alien isn’t all bad.”

“And here I was, supposed to be reassuring you,” He smiled a little, and Skye smiled back and leaned toward him. His smile wavered and he swallowed. “I don’t think it would be a good idea…”

“Stop thinking,” She scolded lightly, brushing her lips against his. She did it two more times before he sighed and pulled her closer, opening his mouth against hers.

“I was able to get a hold of – _seriously_.”

They jumped apart at the sound of May’s dry tone, and Skye brushed her fingers across her lips. Coulson folded his arms across his chest.

“Do you knock?” He raised his eyebrow, frustrated at her, and she raised her eyebrow in return.

“I will, now.” She said pointedly, glancing toward Skye, who at least had the decency to act embarrassed as she looked at her shoes. May stepped further into the room and closed the door behind her, locking it. “I was able to make contact with Dr. Streiten.”

“So he’s still alive?” Coulson sounded half-relieved, but pensive. May nodded.

“For the time being. He admitted to me that he knew of the origins of the Guest Host,” Something flashed across Coulson’s face at that, but he kept his lips pressed together. “SHIELD has been keeping its knowledge of this creature a secret since World War II. Apparently, it didn’t arrive to Earth dead,”

“What?” Coulson and Skye interrupted at the same time, surprised. May nodded again, and they all moved toward Coulson’s desk; Coulson sitting on the edge of it and May and Skye sitting in the two seats in front.

“It was sent to Earth. To study us, observe us.” May began, and Coulson and Skye shared a look of dread. “Streiten said, according to the file, that the original intentions of this journey were not good ones, but the creature believed that Humans were not a problem and disagreed with its superiors about… how to deal with us.”

“As in…” Skye trailed off.

“They wanted to destroy the Earth.” Coulson realized. “It makes sense. This was around the time we really started researching space.”

“Yes. Long story short; the Guest Host decided to help defend Earth instead. He was branded a traitor by his people, and he could never return to his home planet. But perhaps they were too lazy to come after him, because they never did.” May paused for a moment, and Coulson’s brow furrowed.

“So then how did he die?” He asked.

“Hydra.”

“Of course,” Skye rolled her eyes.

“Some sort of toxin they created poisoned him, and although he had regenerative properties, he didn’t have the capacity to fight off cancer. The cells just reproduced exponentially, killing him faster. SHIELD managed to acquire his body before Hydra, thankfully, and put him in stasis.” May finished explaining. There was a long moment of silence as Skye and Coulson took this in.

“So… SHIELD has just been hiding a half-dead alien body for the last few decades? How has _no one_ heard of this before now?” Skye was suspicious.

“Same reason no one knew of Hydra infiltrating SHIELD,” Coulson replied dryly, a deep frown on his face. “Only a handful of the most important people knew of this information, and I imagine all the files were hard copy, to keep people like the Rising Tide from hacking into the information.”

“That’s true. Streiten told me the original file was burned long ago. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if Director Fury had a copy of it somewhere, but as far as he knows, no written information on the Guest Host exists.” May said.

“So… what does this mean as far as the writing? If the Guest Host wasn’t completely dead… does that mean we have his consciousness in us?” Skye pursed her lips, and Coulson looked thoughtful.

“Simmons used the term ‘instinct’, simply because I haven’t felt something so solid as another consciousness…” Coulson stopped speaking, causing Skye and May to look at him suspiciously.

“What?” Skye pushed, and Coulson looked guilty again.

“It’s changed, a little. Since we… since the other evening.” Coulson didn’t quite look at either of them.

“Have the two of you had sex?” May asked, only a small hint of concern in her voice.

“No,” Coulson said quickly, “Not exactly, I mean. We just… not quite.”

May sighed and put her head in her hand, rubbing her forehead. She took a deep breath, and then looked back up.

“I’d really rather not hear about your love lives, but it seems to be pertinent to the situation, so,”

“Kree. Did he confirm it was Kree?” Skye interrupted, and May narrowed her eyes for a half a second before answering.

“Yes. He confirmed that the Guest Host is a Kree. It went by the name of Mar-Vell.”

“Mar-Vell,” Coulson repeated quietly, and Skye watched him, as if they were both waiting for that to cue a reaction. He shrugged.

“What writing were you talking about, Skye?” May took the conversation back a couple of steps, her tone sharp, and Coulson and Skye looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Eventually Coulson sighed, and Skye reached for her tablet.


	22. Chapter 22

“Simmons. We need more testing done.” Coulson announced upon entering the lab the next morning.

“Fitz and I were just starting to make headway with the cloaking device for The Bus…”

“This takes priority, Simmons,” He interrupted, glancing toward Skye with a significant look. “We’ve acquired new information.”

“Information about what?” Fitz asked, brow furrowed. He wasn’t quite back to his usual self; he still got confused very easily, and being kept out of the loop didn’t help matters.

“Give us the room, Fitz,” Coulson said gently, and Fitz’s frown deepened.

“But I – ”

“ _Fitz_.” Coulson’s tone was sharp, and Fitz pinched his lips closed. Skye gave him an apologetic look as he slipped passed her, and made sure the door was closed behind him.

“It wasn’t completely dead, Simmons, and I don’t know why it’s worked out like this for us and not for anyone else the testing was done on, but we’ve got reason to believe the _consciousness_ of it is… growing.” Coulson began without preamble. Simmons stared, wide-eyed, blindly reaching toward her desk for her notebook.

“Garret spoke about seeing things, seeing the universe, having things speak to him,” She said, and Coulson nodded.

“Yes, but Garret went nuts.”

“We aren’t… exactly,” Skye put in. “Coulson thinks it’s protecting us. Well, protecting him. I haven’t had any of these issues.”

“You mentioned that protection previously,” Simmons said slowly.

“Yes, but it’s becoming more apparent.” Coulson said, his tone very neutral. The tenseness in his jaw gave away his stress, however, and Skye reached for his hand.

“More apparent how?” Simmons asked quickly.

“Stronger. It’s not fighting against me, but I can feel it more often. And the … sleepwalking is happening more often. I feel more restless, anxious. And Skye… her presence calms me. Her _touch_ is literally soothing, to me.”

“I found a bunch of paperclips scattered about his office the other day, all twisted into shapes…” Skye pulled one out of her pocket and handed it to Simmons. “The shapes of the symbols.”

“Wow,” Simmons breathed, holding the paperclip up to look at it.

“It’s happening during the day. I’m working in my office, creating these things, and I don’t even realize it.” Coulson sounded anxious. “We learned, between Darcy, Skye, and May, that the Kree was sent originally to study Earth; to deem whether Humans would become a problem for his people.” Simmons raised her eyebrows.

“And?” She asked, a bit of worry in her voice.

“This particular guy decided we weren’t worth the trouble. But what AC and I are concerned about… what if this introduction to AC’s mind was sort of like a reboot to the Kree consciousness? What if he believes, once again, that he’s here to deem whether or not we’re dangerous? Because in this day and age, it’s hard to see how we _aren’t_.” Skye explained. Coulson’s fingers tightened around hers, and she rubbed her thumb across the back of his hand.

“You’re worried that these writings are a map to lead an army to Earth?” Simmons figured, and Coulson nodded and shrugged.

“We know that the map I drew on the notepad is different than the others. It’s probably not too significant. But I want to figure out what the writing we found in that Hydra facility means. I want to figure out what the writing on the wall in the storage room means.”

“Director Coulson…” Simmons said after a moment, and took a breath before continuing, “That might not be possible. As far as we know, that one creature under Project TAHITI was the only existing Kree on Earth. Perhaps even in our solar system. Unless…” She trailed off, and Skye shook her head.

“No evidence of another Kree. Not yet, anyway.”

“I might be able to read it.” Coulson said, and Skye shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

“What?” Simmons exclaimed, shaking her head vehemently. “No. _No_ ; as your physicianI _cannot_ allow you to knowingly open your mind to the sort of ramifications – ”

“I haven’t experienced any of the other side effects yet – ”

“And I’d like to keep it that way!” Simmons interrupted, and then she took half a step back. “I’m sorry, sir,” she apologized for the outburst. “But I have no definitive way to predict your mind’s or your body’s reaction to this.”

“Skye can help me,” Coulson said with assurance, and Skye licked her lips nervously. Simmons narrowed her eyes.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“It…” Coulson took a breath. “It keeps telling me ‘we need her’. ‘She can help us’. And I feel like that’s in direct regards to understanding what I’m writing – maybe even being able to control what I’m writing.”

“ _How_?” Simmons asked incredulously, and Coulson looked carefully at Skye.

“That’s the part I’m not sure of. Her presence, perhaps?” He guessed.

“It’s _spoken_ to you? You’ve actually _heard_ words?” Simmons furrowed her brow, trying to understand.

“It’s like having someone else in my head. I don’t know what enacted the change, but there’s definitely _something else_ in there, now.” He gestured toward his head.

“I … I’m not sure what sort of tests to _do_ , honestly. I’m _really_  not comfortable – ”

“I had an idea there, actually,” Skye piped up. “That chamber thing you’ve had us use before. I’d like to move a chalkboard and some beds in there. We would sleep in there, with your fancy monitors and everything around, and that way when he wakes up in one of his trances, the chalkboard is there for him to write on. And I’ll be there to observe and see if I can interact with him while he’s … like that.”

“I still don’t know about that part,” Coulson said uncertainly. “What if I hurt you?”

“Will it make you feel better to know that I’ll have an Icer on me? I don’t plan on using it, though.” Skye told him, and he seemed to relax somewhat.

“Sir,”

“Simmons, I don’t know what else to do!” Coulson interrupted, his voice echoing in the silence that followed. “Before my… control gets worse, I want to make sure that I won’t be a threat to anyone. We _need_ to know what these symbols are.” Coulson softened his voice a little, and Simmons eventually nodded silently.

“I’ll have Fitz help me prepare the room for the evening. What shall I tell him?” She asked.

“A routine sleep study. You’re curious about… stress. I’m a relatively new Director, Skye’s a relatively new field agent. Use that.” Coulson glanced at Skye, and she shrugged and nodded.

“Alright,” Simmons carefully agreed. “I’ll set up the video feed to stream directly to my tablet and nowhere else.”

“I can encrypt it so no one will be able to hack into it,” Skye offered.

“Thank you,” Coulson said sincerely, giving them both a grateful look. He left the room, and Simmons looked at Skye worriedly.

“He’s very concerned about this.”

“Of course. He doesn’t want to turn into John Garrett,” Skye pointed out, and she glanced hesitantly toward the door before stepping closer to Simmons. “I need to tell you something, and I want you to promise me that under _no circumstances_ you will tell Coulson.”

Simmons immediately tensed, and her frown deepened.

“Even if he pulls rank. _Do not tell him_. Promise me.” Skye insisted, and Simmons gave her a small nod.

“I promise.”


	23. Chapter 23

“I’ll be in the next room… So if there’s an emergency, I’ll be nearby.” Simmons told them, standing in the doorway of the chamber.

“Thank you, Simmons.” Coulson said, giving her a reaffirming smile. She gave him a small smile in return, and slipped away quietly. He sighed and turned toward Skye, who was sitting on the edge of her cot. “This is awkward.” He said after a moment.

“Yes,” She agreed, chuckling. “It is, a little bit.” She was wearing a pair of black leggings and a long grey t-shirt, and he was clad in his pajama bottoms and undershirt.

“Do you have the Icer?” He asked, and she gave him a look. She slipped her hand beneath her pillow, however, and pulled out the weapon.

“Right here,” She said dryly, putting it back.

He sat on the edge of his own bed, across from her. He could feel the weight of the chalk board behind him, the emptiness of it looming. He scratched at his chest.

“Are you nervous?” She asked, sliding back and leaning her back against the glass at the head of the bed, stretching her feet out.

“Of course I’m nervous – I don’t know what’s going to happen, with you right here while I’m…” Coulson said defensively, mirroring her position and folding his arms across his chest. Skye sighed and turned so she could look at him while lying on her side.

“Don’t worry, AC. You’ll be okay.”

He gave her a thankful look, and then turned his face back toward the ceiling. The lights suddenly flicked off, with only the soft light blue of the lab’s night lights filling the room. Skye could hear him take in an unsteady breath.

“Relax,” She said soothingly, caressing him with her voice. She started humming, then; nothing really particular. It was slow and peaceful, and she made it up as she went along. It seemed to help, because soon his breathing had evened out, and he’d even closed his eyes.

She stayed still in her bed, watching over his sleeping form. She didn’t feel tired at all, but she wasn’t nervous either. She was concerned, yes – for Coulson. He was very worried that he was going crazy, that he would soon lose his mind like Garrett had. He didn’t have the certainty that Skye did; that they would be okay. She was hoping that after tonight, he would start feeling more confident about his situation. _Their_ situation.

Two hours passed before anything happened.

She had gotten so used to his still form that when he did move, she couldn't help but flinch a little.

His eyes blinked open slowly, and he turned his head to look at her, as if to check that she was still there. He seemed to be normal Coulson.

“Hey AC. Everything’s fine.” She assured him in a whisper, encouraging him to go back to sleep.

He didn’t, however. He swung his feet around off the edge of the bed and stared at her.

“Do you need to write?” She asked, a little more intently but still cautious. She sat up, but didn’t bother getting out of the bed yet. He looked at her curiously, and thought for a few moments before speaking.

“What was that you were singing when I fell asleep? Can you sing it again?” He asked, sounding oddly clear-headed.

“Do you want to go back to sleep?” She wondered, and he shook his head. He stood and moved toward her, taking her hand and pulling her up out of her bed.

“No,” He said, amused, as if what she had said was funny. “I want to dance. Sing it again.” He encouraged her, holding her hand up and pressing his other hand against the small of her back. She sucked in a breath when he tugged their bodies close.

“I – Coulson,” She began, knowing now that he was sleep-walking again. Before she could say anything else, he started humming and taking her through a slow waltz. Her free hand went to his elbow automatically, but she managed not to stumble. “How do you – I just made that up,” Skye frowned at him as he hummed the exact same tune she had a few hours ago.

He just smiled at her, as if she were being silly again.

“Did you?” He mused, like he knew better.

“Are you telling me I _wasn’t_ making that up?” Skye asked, her tone sharp with worry.

“You remember it,” He said encouragingly, “sing it with me.” He continued to spin them around the room, and Skye breathed deeply through her nose.

If that song was somehow related to his Kree consciousness, that meant she was starting to show outward symptoms as well…

“Don’t panic, Skye. Don’t panic.” She told herself under her breath. To keep him occupied while she tried to figure a way to get him to stop and focus on the real problem, she began to hum.

She wasn’t focusing on what she was singing; she was focusing on how to distract him, and sure enough, her tune matched with his perfectly. She looked at him with wide eyes, and he looked pleased.

“This scares me,” She said, and he immediately stopped moving, suddenly looking worried.

“It’s okay,” He assured her, and she shook her head, pulling herself free from him.

“No, it’s not. We _both_ can’t be going crazy, Coulson,” Her voice started getting a little louder, and he looked hurt.

“I’m not crazy,” He said softly, and she frowned slightly.

“The real Coulson _does_ believe he’s going crazy,” She said pointedly, her voice quiet again.

“I am real.” He said just as quietly, and she raised her eyebrow at him.

“But you’re not Coulson.”

He was silent, and only looked sad as he looked off to the side.

“I am,” He said eventually, turning his eyes back to her. “I am Coulson. I’m also… something else. As are you. You aren’t _just_ Skye – not anymore.” Skye frowned thoughtfully.

“Am I… talking with the Kree right now?” She asked carefully, awkwardly. Coulson gave her a half-smile. She took a step away from him, and his smile wavered.

“ _Please_ don’t be afraid of me.” He sounded hurt.

“What is the writing?” She asked, folding her arms across her chest; not angrily but more in a defensive stance. His smile dropped completely, and he leaned his head slightly to the side.

“If you have to ask, you aren’t ready to know.” He told her, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“ _You_ should know we’ve been in the dark for long enough!” She argued, and he nodded.

“Yes. But neither of you are _ready_. Particularly you. You’re too human. And he’s trying so hard to figure it out that it’s becoming harder for me to protect his mind.”

“That’s not going to change!” She gestured her hands between them. “It’s not like we have more of this stuff to inject ourselves with!”

“Of course you do,” He had that amused look on his face again. “You have one another.” She stared at him for a long moment.

“Are you suggesting – you’re saying – ”

“I’m surprised you haven’t thought to do it already,” He mused, shrugging, and Skye raised her eyebrows at him.

“As I’m sure you’re well aware, we’ve thought about it _plenty_ ,” She said, appalled, and he looked confused for a moment, before letting out a laugh.

“I’m talking about a _blood transfusion_.” He said, laughing, and she could feel her face heat up.

“I was – that – that was what _I_ was saying…” She trailed off, looking away from him. He stepped closer to her, and she jerked her gaze back toward him quickly.

“Though, a physical bond would be very agreeable, as well.” He said lowly, and she stared at him.

“I’m sure it would!” She retorted, flustered by the way he was looking at her. He still _looked_ like Coulson, after all, and Coulson looking at her like _that_ was doing funny things to her insides. “You want to populate the Earth with weird little alien babies and take over!” He raised his eyebrow.

“The bond between you will help strengthen one another so your minds will be able to handle the Kree consciousness.” He said calmly, eyebrow still raised. She blinked.

“Oh.” She looked at him sideways. “It’s not happening now, if that’s what you’re waiting for.”

“Obviously not. It has to be you and _Coulson_. And anyway, the human bond between you is just as important, if not more so.” He stepped away from her, moving back to the bed.

“Wait! Are you – am I ever going to be able to speak to you like this again?” She asked as he sat down on the edge of his bed. “Are you going to write?”

“There is nothing more I can tell you right now, without triggering side effects within your own body. So no, we will not speak like this again; not until you’ve bonded.”

“Jesus,” She muttered.

“Coulson and I are one in the same, Skye. You’ll see.” He assured her. “It’s just different right now because… there’s a line of code that is missing.”

Her eyes suddenly lit up in recognition, and he smiled warmly at her.

“A line of code that I can create,” She said, and he nodded.

“Exactly. But he has to be… open to receiving that line of code,”

“And you’re like the firewall,” She continued, “Except, you’re firewall that wants me to hack in…” He simply blinked at her, watching her figure it out in her own terms. “And I can’t do it now?” She said, approaching him. Something flashed in his eyes.

“No,”

“Will it hurt him?” She asked, worried, though still sitting on the bed next to him. She left space between them, not wanting to hurt Coulson, but wanting to fix their problem.

He lifted his finger and brushed slowly it across her cheekbone and along her lips.

“It won’t hurt him physically if I were careful, but… it would hurt him emotionally. And that _could_ transfer into mental or even physical pain.” He told her quietly, looking at her lips. She leaned toward him slightly for a second, and then leaned back, standing up and moving toward her own bed.

“He’s terrified of taking advantage of me.” She pointed out, agreeing.

“I would never do that, you know.”

“I….know.” She gave him a sideways look. He smiled slowly.

“Don’t tell him of this, please.” He advised, shifting his feet onto the bed and lying back against his pillows.

“How do I explain my new knowledge of what to do?”

“… Tell him he carved it.” He suggested.

“But the wall is still blank…” She trailed off when he turned his face toward her.

“You know how to get him to write.”

Skye blushed, and he turned away and closed his eyes.

She wasn’t sure how long to wait. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk to him again – the real him – tonight, anyway. Not right after she had just talked to _something else_ using _his_ body.

She definitely wasn’t going to tell him what had happened.

And as far as a blood transfusion… Skye remembered very clearly what had happened with the blood samples in the lab. That seemed like a _dangerous_ thing to do, and she mostly still sided with Simmons that it was a bad idea to mix their blood together.

Having a physical bond would keep them strong? Having sex would basically save their lives? She couldn’t help but laugh a little at that idea.

“This cannot be fucking real,” She muttered, lying back against her pillows and clasping her fingers together behind her head. “I mean, I would have gladly jumped AC a long time ago, but now there are ulterior motives. This is just… _weird_.”

“Are you talking to yourself?” Coulson’s whisper made her jump and make a rather embarrassing squeaking sound. She sat up quickly to glare at him; he was still laying there, his head turned to look at her.

“ _Jesus_ , Coulson!” She scolded. He blinked sleepily, looking amused.

“Have you slept at all?” He asked, and she knew that he was himself again. Relief flooded through her and she twisted to hang her legs over the side of her bed.

“A little.” She glanced toward the chalkboard. “It’s still blank.” He followed her gaze, and looked relieved.

“Maybe I won’t carve tonight.” He said, and she gave him a sideways look.

“Then that means more nights in this box together.” She reminded him, and he looked a little timid.

“I wouldn’t necessarily argue with that.” He said, and she raised her eyebrow at him, smirking a little.

_You know how to get him to carve._

She stood and moved toward his bed, and he sat up a little.

“I – what are you…” She sat on the edge, facing him, and he swallowed, scooting away from her a little. “Skye,” He sounded frightened, watching her hands.

“Trust me, AC, you aren’t going to hurt me.” She definitely knew that for certain, now. “I want to know what this map is… plus…” She slid her hand across his knee, and he jumped. “It’s hard to just lie there and watch you and not be able to touch you.”

“I feel that way about you _every day_ ,” He pointed out, his words turning into breath as her hand moved up his thigh.

“You remember we’ve done this before, and it wasn’t so bad,” She said lightly, and he pursed his lips.

“It was also during the day, when we were in danger of someone walking in on us, and…” He spoke quickly, still watching her hand. She stopped just before the bulge in his pants, resting her hand against his leg. He breathed quickly, raising his eyes to hers.

“This isn’t about the alien crap. _I want you_ , Phil.” She said truthfully, and he sucked in a breath and grabbed at her, pulling her on top of him. They kissed for a while, his hands roaming up her back under her shirt.

When she started to feel that he was tracing particular patterns along her skin, she pulled away carefully, sucking on his bottom lip a little. He sat up with her, his tongue running along his lips, his hands curving around her waist. His palms were hot against her skin and she hummed, pressing her lips to his neck. Her knees were straddling his thighs, and he was tugging her closer to him, trying to get their bodies to touch more completely.

“Wait,” She whispered, remembering, pulling away again. He made a disapproving noise and kissed at her collarbone, sucking at the skin. His thumbs were drawing circles and lines against her hips. “Coulson, you need to get the carving out of your system first,” She said, even as her eyes closed and her head leaned back.

There was a physical change in him as he acknowledged what she said; his body tensed and his hands went completely still, and he kissed her firmly on the lips once more before rolling her over off of him, sliding off of the bed quickly.

“Don’t move,” He said darkly, his voice gravelly. She bit her lip and settled herself against his pillows, anxious. There was something oddly satisfying about seeing the determination on his face as he scratched the chalk at a record pace along the board. It was obvious that he wasn’t thinking too much about what he was writing.

And that was good, right? He – The Kree part of him, rather – had said earlier that his human mind was trying too hard, fighting against the protection. This time he was too distracted to think about what he was doing.

She looked slowly down his back, not ashamed to be checking him out.

“God, have you always had that ass?” She wondered, and there was a snapping sound as the chalk broke under his hand. He continued writing with the broken piece however, only hesitating momentarily over her comment. He wrote for a few more minutes before dropping the chalk to the floor and turning back toward her.

“I’m done.” He said, and she raised her eyebrow.

“Are you sure?” She asked, and he nodded. “Show me your hand.” She said, and he held his hand out in the air. It was still. She looked back at him, nodding, and he lowered his hand. She gestured him closer, and pulled him into the bed next to her. He rested on his side so he could look at her, waiting for her to tell him what happens next. “I don’t want our first real sex to happen in a glass box.” She told him, and he appeared to agree. He reached down to draw the sheet over them both, and she grabbed for his hand again, pushing his fingers against her abdomen.

He watched her as he slipped his fingers beneath her waistband, and he watched her as he made her come, and he watched her as she finally relaxed again, a warm smile on her face.

He watched as she caught her breath, and then disappeared beneath the sheet.

When her breath ghosted across his skin, and her mouth touched him, he closed his eyes and groaned loudly.

Perhaps next time, he would be able to watch her do that, as well.


	24. Chapter 24

Simmons stood between Coulson and Skye the next morning, all three of them facing the chalk board.

“He seemed more like himself, this time. I mean, he obviously still had no control over _what_ he was writing, but he didn’t go into that sort of trance thing that he usually does.” Skye explained to Simmons, who nodded along as she jotted notes down into her book.

“Yes, he seemed very focused…” She murmured, then glanced quickly toward Coulson, her face turning red before she focused back onto her notebook. “Focused on other things.”

Skye smirked over Simmons toward Coulson, and he frowned slightly at her.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” He said, sounding slightly miffed, and Skye shrugged.

“It worked, didn’t it?” At his silence, she added, “I think I know what it says.” Both of them turned toward her immediately.

“You do? How?” Simmons demanded, and Coulson looked concerned. Skye bit her lip, putting on an embarrassed front.

“I… Well, as he was distracted while he was writing… I was sort of distracted too.” She glanced at Coulson. “It was like my brain stopped trying so hard to make sense of the patterns. They just sort of… faded into focus. I’m sorry,” She said to Simmons, “It’s not much of an explanation – that I just _happened_ to understand them,”

“What do they say?” Simmons asked, and Coulson couldn’t hide the curiosity in his expression.

“They say…” Skye turned her focus back toward Coulson, “Basically, we can help one another. We can make one another stronger.”

“ _How_?” Coulson wondered, and Simmons frowned.

“Your blood?” She guessed thoughtfully. Skye raised her eyebrows in surprise, nodding.

“Yes. A blood transfusion.” Skye said, and Coulson shook his head.

“No. We’ve already seen how dangerous that could be – ”

“But not if we’re stronger, first.” Skye interrupted carefully, legitimately uncomfortable now. “If we’re… bonded. ”

“No – ” Coulson began immediately, and Skye interrupted him again,

“We’ve been over this before,”

“I’m not going to have sex with you just for the sake of some science experiment!” Coulson said forcefully, folding his arms across his chest.

“This isn’t just some science experiment, Coulson – this is our _lives_.” Skye said pointedly, stepping toward him. Simmons carefully moved out of the way, stepping to the side to give them some space.

“Exactly!”

“And it _wouldn’t_ be just for this, you know.” Skye said, pursing her lips, folding her arms as well. Coulson’s stance softened just slightly.

“I know,” He struggled, sounding unsure, “but I don’t want there to be ulterior motives,”

“The only ulterior motive would be _me_ wanting to fuck your brains out.” Skye snapped, her eyes glaring at the chalkboard. There was a long silence, and it was as if the air had been sucked out of the room.

Coulson struggled against the sudden, _very_ explicit imagery that was playing across his mind, and he knew his face was beet red.

“Um, Sir? Coulson, you need to breathe.” Simmons concerned tone cut through his brain, and he breathed in sharply through his nose. He realized Skye was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

“See?” Skye gestured toward him. “I say one thing and your brain just short-circuits completely. We’re in this way too deep, Coulson. We _know_ how we really feel about one another, and we know that this alien stuff is kicking it into overdrive.” She stepped toward him, and he held his breath again. “It’s not the serum that _causing_ this, AC. It’s only exacerbating the original emotions and thoughts that already existed.”

He was suspicious of her assurance, but he was so tired of fighting. She must have seen the flash of acknowledgement in his eyes, because she turned toward Simmons.

“Thank you, Simmons. We’ll let you know when we need you, again.” Skye said to her in an official tone of voice, and Simmons raised her eyebrows. “You might want to write down the date and time in your notebook there. Just in case this kills us or something.”

“I…” Simmons opened her mouth, but wasn’t sure how to reply, and closed it again.

“As May said… not a bad way to go, I guess.” Skye mused, turning back toward Coulson. He could only look at her, allowing her to take his hand and lead him out of the glass room. They were halfway toward his room before he said anything.

“You spoke to him, didn’t you,” He asked, mostly certain. Skye looked apologetically at him, but continued to lead him down the hall. If anyone thought it odd that Skye was dragging him by the hand, both of them in their pajamas, no one said anything to them.

“I… Some,” She admitted carefully, and Coulson was surprised to find that he felt resigned about it. “He didn’t want you to know.”

“He’s rather protective over me,” Coulson said oddly; it felt strange to be talking so blasé about an alien that shared his brain. “Honestly I’m a little surprised we didn’t have sex last night.”

“He ships us,” Skye smirked, and Coulson gave her a confused look.

“He what?”

“And, you know, most people consider a blowjob as a form of sex,” Skye pointed out, and Coulson cleared his throat, glancing around them at the thankfully empty hallway.

“You know what I mean,” He hissed, and she grinned.

“Yes,” She admitted.

“Sir, we have a problem – ” Hunter and Mack came rather quickly around the corner, causing Skye and Coulson to stop short before they ran into one another. Skye quickly slipped her hand away from Coulson’s, but the other two seemed to distracted to notice.

“Director, there’s been a breach,”

“Are you wearing _pajamas_?” Hunter said incredulously. Skye rolled her eyes at him as Coulson zeroed in on what Mack had said.

“What kind of breach? Which sector?” Coulson demanded.

“The physical kind,”

“Why aren’t we on red alert – ”

“Sir, it’s a young woman. And she walked in saying, “I come in peace” … we’ve got her locked up in Room Six.” Mack carefully interrupted Coulson, letting him know that they had it handled. “She’s asking for Skye,” Mack glanced toward Skye, and Coulson turned toward her with a raised eyebrow. Skye held her hands in the air in a defensive gesture.

“Hey, I have no idea what he’s talking about. I’ve been with _you_ , remember?” She said, and Hunter narrowed his eyes.

“ _You’re_ wearing pajamas, too!”

“Change and meet me in my office. We need to talk about this before we do anything else,” Coulson told her, and she nodded.

“What do you want us to do?” Hunter wondered, and Coulson looked at Mack.

“Keep watch over the door? If it’s who I think it is, she doesn’t pose a threat. I just don’t want her wondering around the base. And Mack…” Coulson looked at all of them, so they knew he meant this part especially, “Don’t say my name. She can’t know that I’m alive.”

Hunter stared at him with wide eyes, and Mack frowned.

“Why not?” The mechanic wondered, and Hunter smirked.

“Must be an old girlfriend,” He wiggled his eyebrows at Skye, and she frowned at him.

“Meet me in my office, Skye,” Coulson said again, continuing down the hall. The other three stood there for a moment.

“Looks like you two were heading to his office, anyway. Pajama party?” Hunter wondered, and Skye scowled and turned to head toward her quarters.

“Shut up, Hunter.”

She changed quickly and was walking into the office eight minutes later. Coulson had changed into his suit pants and shirt, but didn’t have his tie or jacket on. Skye smiled indulgently as she took in his slightly harried appearance, and he looked up as she shut the door behind her.

“As I thought; it’s Darcy.” He sighed heavily, gesturing toward the large screen on the wall, where he had pulled up the security footage of the base.

They both silently watched as Trip, Mack, and Hunter all pulled a gun on the young girl as she walked into the frame. They spoke for a minute, and as the girl carefully approached, Trip cuffed her and checked her for weapons. Mack then led her out of the room.

“Did you give her any clue as to where you were?” Coulson asked, and Skye shook her head.

“I was careful. You know that I’m careful. It’s been _years_ since someone has been able to trace me like this…” She glanced at Coulson, and saw his slight smirk. “Okay, someone _other_ than a government company with millions of dollars and hundreds of super smart people at their disposal.”

“I told you not to underestimate her,” Coulson sounded more amused than chiding, “She works with one of the smartest people in the world, and she could be one of them, if she focused herself… Given time and equipment, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she came across some file that indicated I’m still alive. I’m just banking on the hope that she’s not searching for anything like that.”

“Why _is_ it such a big deal that she not know you’re alive?” Skye wondered curiously. “ _Is_ she an old fling of yours?”

Coulson laughed, which put Skye at ease – though she hadn’t even known she’d been that worried about it.

“God, no. It’s because of her affiliation with Thor. She would definitely want to tell Dr. Foster if she discovered that I was alive. And, if Thor had spoken to Dr. Foster at all about the Avengers Initiative – which I gather he probably has – Dr. Foster wouldn’t hesitate to share the information.” Coulson explained. Skye looked at him apologetically.

“You still don’t want them to know, huh?” She asked softly, and his eyes glinted sharply with concern.

“Not yet.” He said. They were quiet for a long moment.

“I should go down and talk with her. Figure out how she found this place.” Skye said, and Coulson nodded.

“As far as I know, her work and friendship with Dr. Foster is the most important thing to her. If you need to…”

“Yes, I understand. Thanks.” Skye hesitated before stepping toward the door, and leaned into him a little. “Can I _please_ punish her in some way for interrupting us?” She asked quietly, and he smirked, reaching up to brush a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“I would be disappointed if you didn’t,” He conceded, and she smiled, giving him a quick kiss on the lips before leaving. He stared at the door as it closed behind her, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He sighed in disappointment, and then moved behind his desk to start looking into Darcy’s file a little more closely.


	25. Chapter 25

When Skye entered the interrogation room, Darcy was sitting comfortably in the chair with her feet propped up on the table. Skye raised her eyebrow as she crossed to stand in front of her.

“You’re Skye,” Darcy grinned knowingly, swinging her feet down and sitting forward in her seat excitedly.

“Yes,” Skye said, pulling the chair out to sit across from her.

“You look frustrated,” Darcy said, and then quickly continued, “Look, I didn’t mean to sneak into your secret base or whatever this is – what the hell is this place, anyway?  I thought you were working out of an abandoned building, and I come to find a couple of guys with guns and handcuffs demanding to know why I was here! If I didn’t know better, I’d almost say this place was SHIELD…”

Skye blinked, seeing that Darcy was looking at her to gauge her reaction.

“Hmm.” Darcy said, sounding disappointed.

“Why did you hunt me down?” Skye wondered honestly. “You were really helpful before, and I was free with sending you photos of what I had found.”

“But you weren’t _entirely_ truthful, were you?” Darcy gestured around them. “I wanted to see them in person, I just thought it was so cool… plus, I kind of wanted to surprise you. Turns out _I_ was the one who got surprised…”

“Oh, I’m surprised, for sure.” Skye told her, and Darcy smiled easily. “How did you find out where I was?” Skye asked, trying to keep her tone light. Darcy’s smile widened with a proud look.

“Your webcam in your office. I hacked it. It was _really_ hard, I’ll give you that. Definitely the most difficult hack I’ve ever made, and I’ve hacked into SHIELD before,” Darcy rambled, and Skye raised her eyebrows in surprise, glancing up toward the corner where she knew the security camera was.

“Not to brag.” Darcy quickly added. “I mean, you are for sure the _best_ I’ve ever come across.” She leaned onto the table, and Skye leaned back very slightly. “ _How_ did you hack those Director’s Eyes Only files? _Please_ share your secret.”

“You know I can’t do that.” Skye said with a smile, and Darcy sighed but nodded, leaning back into her seat.

“Yeah, I can admire that…” She sighed, but soon enough became animated again, “I got into your webcam just long enough to ping a location for a few seconds. I actually hunted through a few buildings in this area before I fell across this one… _Also,_ ” She leaned forward even further across the table, a coy look on her face. “You might want to lock your office door. Like I said, there were only a few seconds of footage, but it was definitely enough to see two people going at it against one of your bookshelves across the room.”

“ _What_ ,” Skye choked, hoping to God that her face didn’t look as red as it felt. Darcy nodded, whispering,

“Well, they weren’t having sex or anything, but they were totally focused on each other, if you catch my drift.”

Skye groaned and covered her face with her hand for a moment. Then, realizing that she needed to provide a cover for the guys watching the feed, she glared up into the camera again.

“Some of my coworkers… They were married.” Skye shook her head, and Darcy leaned back in her chair again.

“Ah,” She mused. “Sorry about that. I hate to snitch on them.”

“Never mind about that.” Skye waved her hand in the air, wanting to change the topic of the conversation as quickly as possible. “How were you able to get into my webcam?”

“Oh, that,” Darcy shrugged. “JARVIS can do just about anything, if bribed correctly. Granted, it took _him_ a while, too. It was only our combined brain power – so to speak; he doesn’t actually have a brain – that got me in.”

“ _JARVIS_?” Skye repeated, groaning quietly.

“Yeah, that’s Tony Stark’s… butler, thing. Helps him with the suits and whatnot. He’s like a supercomputer AI or something.” Darcy explained.

“I know,” Skye muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she sighed and stood. “Well, thanks for telling me that,”

“Wait! Can’t I at least see that wall? Are you going to tell me what this place is? Who are you? I have – ”

“I’m going to talk to my boss, for a moment. Just sit tight. Want me to bring you back anything?” Skye assured her, moving toward the door.

“Water would be great,” Darcy admitted. As Skye opened the door, she called out, “If your boss is one of the people in that footage I saw, tell him he has a really great butt!”

Skye shut the door quickly, her face flushed.

Coulson stood just at the end of the hall, the most no-nonsense look on his face that Skye had seen in quite a while. She chewed her lip for a second, rolling her shoulders. His stance didn’t waver as she approached him, so she knew this wasn’t the time for joking around.

“She was at Stark’s place. I remember now that she had mentioned keeping Dr. Foster company at the tower… I guess that’s what she meant.” Skye shook her head at herself. “Avengers Tower… of course.”

“What does she know?” Coulson asked.

“Other than the location of this place? She knows those symbols exist here, of course. And, um…” Skye laughed hesitantly, “She knows you have a great ass,”

“Dammit, Skye,” Coulson groaned, closing his eyes and rubbing his eyes. “We need to make sure she doesn’t spread that information around,” He said, his tone once more serious. Skye nodded.

“I agree. If the rest of the world knows how great your ass is, I’ll be fighting them off in hordes.” Skye replied, her tone just as serious. Coulson dropped his hand from his face, giving her a deadpanned look.

“That’s not what I – ”

“I know what you meant,” Skye assured him softly, touching her fingers against his arm briefly. “I’ll go speak with her.”

“She could be an asset,” Coulson said suddenly, and Skye gave him a curious look. He seemed to think about something for a minute. “Start talking to her about SHIELD, since she was the one to bring it up. See her viewpoint of the organization. She more than likely has pored through what data she could, after Romanoff released everything to the public.” Coulson looked sure of his decision, and his posture significantly relaxed. “It would be good to have somebody inside the tower, outside of Maria Hill. Darcy would give us a viewpoint Maria would never get.”

“You sure about this? She’s very… excitable.”

“That she is,” Coulson agreed, “But I think she would take the role of a ‘secret agent’ very seriously.” Skye chuckled and shook her head.

“This is _not_ what I expected to be doing, right now,” Skye sighed, turning back to return to the interrogation room.

“Mm, I agree.” Coulson said quietly, his voice low and sensual, and Skye glared at him over her shoulder.

“Go back to your office,” She ordered him, and his eyes glinted with a smirk before he disappeared around the corner.

Skye entered the room shaking her head, chuckling quietly.

“So, what’s the bossman say?” Darcy asked, and when she looked at Skye, she raised her eyebrows and laughed. “ _That’s_ the face I see Jane make every time she walks back into the office after she’s had a make-out session with her boyfriend. So you and the bossman, huh?” Darcy teased, and Skye gave her an alarmed look, her face falling into seriousness.

“What? No. He just said something amusing.” Skye said, sitting down across from Darcy. Darcy looked like she didn’t believe her whatsoever, but thankfully she didn’t argue. “Earlier, you said that if you didn’t know better, this place could be SHIELD. What did you mean by that?” For the first time, Darcy looked nervous.

“You guys aren’t Hydra, are you?” She asked carefully, drawing further into her own seat and glancing around. Skye watched her reaction closely, but kept her face carefully neutral.

“No, we aren’t Hydra.” She said, and she couldn’t help the bit of spite in her tone. Darcy found that comforting, apparently, because she relaxed again – though not to the point that she had been.

“Good.” She waited a beat. “I mean, everyone knows SHIELD is nonexistent, now. Every government has their agents on a target list, and Talbot is _always_ on the TV spouting off propaganda crap against them…”

“You sound defensive of SHIELD.” Skye said, her tone still neutral. Darcy shrugged.

“I mean, they certainly aren’t _perfect_ ,” She said, rolling her eyes. “They’re kind of _jerks_ , really” Skye knew she had to have been talking about her experience with Coulson, and she had trouble keeping the smirk from her face. “But in the long run, they were good people. Some of them, anyway. Obviously, some of them were Nazi bastards, but they couldn’t _all_ have been bad… I refuse to believe that…” Darcy was looking at the floor, perturbed, and Skye leaned forward slightly.

“Darcy,” She began, her tone a bit secretive, “I agree with you.” Darcy looked back up to Skye, hopeful and then slightly suspicious. Skye continued on before Darcy could ask another question. “SHIELD has been quiet, but… they’re not out for the count.”

“Those files you hacked. You’ve found recent ones?” Darcy leaned forward a little, hopeful. “They’re still around? Because I’ll tell you one thing, the aliens haven’t stopped showing up, and we really need somebody looking out for us…”

“Isn’t that what the Avengers are for?” Skye prodded, wanting to hear more of what Darcy was thinking.

“The Avengers need help, too. They _had_ help, back when Loki started this whole mess,”

“You know, aliens have been around long before the Battle of New York - ”

“Yeah, but they never attacked like they are now. Now it seems like every time I turn on the news, some new city is being attacked, or a whole new group of people are turning into weird things, or – ”

“What?” Skye asked sharply, and Darcy gave her a look.

“Don’t you have cable in this place?” Darcy wondered. “ _People_. With _abilities_. I’m not talking about aliens, here.”

Skye looked at the camera again, trying to control her racing thoughts. _What if there are more people with this serum in their systems? More Kree consciousness out there in the world? What if they aren’t all as innocent as mine or Coulson’s?_

“So you are pro-SHIELD?” Skye ground out, biting on her tongue to pull her focus back onto Darcy.

“Well… if it’s not going to get me killed…” Darcy looked at Skye carefully, and Skye finally smiled at her.

“No, it won’t get you killed,” Skye assured her, “In fact, it may just get you a job…”

 

\-----

 

“So… just keep doing what I always do, and report to you weekly? I can do that.” Darcy confirmed again as they stood just outside of the building.

Once Skye had finished talking with her, Mack had come in and given Darcy a small sedative and blindfolded her. Skye waited with her outside of a similar-looking building a few blocks over.

“That’s it,” Skye nodded. “We don’t always hear about the daily issues the Avengers are dealing with. This way, maybe we can give them a little more help.”

“But how will you stay hidden, if you start showing up every time the Avengers do? They have a _ton_ of publicity,”

“We’ve been over this,” Skye interrupted gently. “Trust me. We have our ways.”

“You know… it’s almost too good to believe.” Darcy rubbed the back of her head; Skye knew from experience that she would have a slight headache for the next couple of hours from the sedative. “You guys hiding in the shadows all along, rebuilding and fighting without us ever knowing.”

“We _have_ to do it this way. You understand why.” Skye said pointedly, and Darcy nodded.

“I promise that Jane won’t even know.”

“We’ll see.” Skye said dubiously, but gave Darcy a smile to show that she at least had some trust in her.

“It was good to meet you face-to-face, and, uh… good luck with that thing with your boss.” Darcy winked, and Skye chose not to respond. She watched as Darcy headed down the sidewalk, and then pressed her finger against the comm piece in her ear.

“Follow her for a bit, Bobbi. Make sure she keeps quiet.” Skye said.

“Yes, ma’am,” Bobbi replied. There was a breath, and Skye rolled her eyes as Bobbi continued, “That thing with your boss?”

“You spend too much time with Hunter.” Skye said, turning and heading down the sidewalk toward their building. A car across the street from her caught her eye, and she slowed to a stop, giving it a look. She smirked and checked the traffic before jogging across the street.

“You know, that’s technically illegal, what you just did,” Coulson pointed out, leaning against the front quarter-panel of Lola.

“She looks good,” Skye smiled, ignoring what he had said and walking around the front of the car, checking it out.

“You know how Mack’s been bothering me about her for a while… I finally decided to let him and Trip work on her. She’s been ready to go for a week or so, now.” Coulson spoke proudly, grinning as he looked back down at his car. He looked back up at Skye, that same glint in his eyes. “I was saving her for, well…this.” He gestured toward Skye, and she leaned her head to the side a little, questioningly.

“Are we going somewhere?” She wondered, trying not to sound too hopeful.

“We’ve gone along this far with only Simmons and May knowing anything about our… situation. I’d rather not push our luck when it comes to Hunter.” Coulson admitted, and Skye nodded in agreement.

“Okay.” Skye walked around to the passenger side and got in the car, and as Coulson slid into the driver’s seat she asked, “where to, AC?” He smiled widely at her, reaching over to rest his hand on her thigh, just above her knee. She raised her eyebrow and smirked at him.

“Somewhere we won’t be interrupted.” He promised, turning the ignition. Skye rested her hand on top of his and laced their fingers together.


	26. Chapter 26

They had been in the car for two hours when Skye finally tugged on his arm, impatient.

“Come on, Coulson, just find a Days Inn somewhere.”

He glanced over at her, amused, but definitely in some sort of agreement with her.

“I have a room booked at a Sheraton, alright?” Coulson assured her, reaching over even as he kept his eyes on the road. Skye took his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze, rubbing her thumb across his knuckles.

“Swanky.” She mused teasingly, and he gave her a look. “I’ll take anything with a flat surface, honestly,” Skye told him, and he groaned, his fingers gripping hers.

“Please, Skye. I’m trying to get us there in one piece.”

When they entered what was most definitely a city, Skye spoke again.

“Where are we, anyway?”

“Different state,” Coulson said, stopping to turn left at a red light. Skye gave him a look.

“Really wanted to get away, huh?” She said, and he turned toward her to give her an intense gaze.

“Like I said, no interruptions.” He told her, and it took most of her willpower not to jump him when he spoke in that tone of voice.

“The light is green,” Her voice broke, and he turned back front to pull into the lot of the hotel.

“I’ll check us in, if you’d like to get the bag. It’s in the trunk.” Coulson told her as he parked.

“Just one bag?” She wondered, unbuckling her seatbelt. He spoke over the hood of the car as they both got out,

“I don’t plan on leaving the room much.”

“ _God_ , Coulson, go get the fucking room key,” Skye ground out, and he looked incredibly proud of himself as he walked into the building.

They were alone in the elevator, and she moved directly in front of where he was standing, rising on her toes to kiss him.

“Skye, there are _cameras_ in here,” He mumbled, though his hands had risen to her waist.

“I’m sure it’s nothing they haven’t seen before,” Skye whispered, biting lightly on his lower lip and tugging. He moaned, sliding his hands to her lower back and pulling her body more firmly against his.

“You should still probably delete this footage when we get into the room,” He said between kisses, and she pressed her hand against the front of his pants for a moment. “Okay, yes, later.” He agreed, and by the time the elevator arrived at their floor, Coulson didn’t even care if there was anybody in the hall to see them. He held the bag as Skye used the keycard in the door, pressing his front against her back, brushing his nose through her hair.

He pushed her into the room just as much as she pulled him in after her, and he quickly dropped the bag and turned to press her against the back of the door as he made sure it was locked. He kissed her open-mouthed, his hands at her jaw to tilt her face up so he could kiss her more fully. Her hands grasped at his shirt, tugging it up out of his waistband hurriedly.

“The sign,” Skye breathed, gasping when his lips immediately moved down her neck. “Put the sign on the door!” Coulson whined a little in frustration, but he pulled away from her enough to allow her to slip out of the way. By the time he’d put the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the outside of the door and relocked it, Skye had pushed the covers down on the bed and had removed her jacket and shoes. Coulson approached the bed slowly, unbuttoning his shirt as he went, and watched Skye watch him with arousal in her eyes. When his hands dropped to his belt, she shook her head and stepped toward him.

“No, let me,” She asked, and he let her grasp at the buckle, tugging him closer by it before pulling it loose. She unbuttoned his pants only to finish pulling out his shirt, and she unbuttoned the rest of that, as well. He moaned when her hands slipped across his skin beneath the open shirt, exploring as if she hadn’t touched him before.

“ _Skye_ ,” He asked, and she nodded.

“Time for that later. Undress.” She told him, and if his cock hadn’t already been hard, it certainly was after she said that. Very quickly, they both focused on their own clothing, and soon enough she was tugging him against her again, except this time the only thing he touched was skin. His own skin seemed to spark with energy at every point they touched, and it was almost overwhelming as she pressed her mouth against his neck. He gently pushed her down onto the bed and followed after her without breaking contact, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to go even a moment without touching her.

“I love the room,” Skye managed, when they had to stop kissing so they could catch their breaths. Her eyes were on his, though; as they had been the entire time, and he grinned.

“Time for that, later,” He said, and she laughed, her body brushing against his in all the right ways.

“Mm, can I call you Phil _now_?” She asked, wrapping her legs around him.

“Oh, _God_ yes,” Coulson breathed, pressing his body against hers.

 

\-----

 

Coulson and Skye lay sprawled across his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Both had looks of wonder on their faces.

"AC... I don't want to sound cliche, or make you full of yourself or anything, but... I think I saw stars." Skye said seriously, and Coulson turned his head to look at her.

"You did?" He asked, sounding as if he were in awe of something. Skye met his eyes and nodded. He swallowed, breathing deeply. "I think I did too." He said just as seriously, and then they both looked back up to the ceiling. "I mean," he grinned lightly, "it is nice to hear that," Skye laughed and elbowed him. They were silent again for a few moments, regulating their breathing.

"Do you think it was real?" Skye asked, curious.

"The stars?" Coulson replied incredulously, and Skye gave him a serious look.

"It looked real. Didn't it?" She sounded sure of herself, but then nervous. Coulson hesitated. He remembered Garrett rambling about being able to see the universe, and he recalled snatches of his own visions...

"It did," Coulson admitted carefully, and this seemed to appease Skye. After another moment, she turned to face him and propped her head up on her hand, regarding him. He turned his head to give her a pleased look. "You aren't going to get all high and mighty on me, are you?" He teased, and she laughed, reaching out to run her fingers across the hair on his chest.

"Do you think that happens every time?" She wondered, and Coulson raised his eyebrows at her.

"Skye," he groaned teasingly, grinning, "I would love to tell you that yes, that does happen every time. But I wouldn’t want to sound prideful." Skye smacked him on the chest, and he grunted, grabbing her hand. "I don't know if it happens every time." He admitted, not letting go of her hand. She regarded him for another moment.

"Wanna see?" She asked, and he gave her a wide-eyed look.

"Already?" He asked, surprised, and she shrugged, pulling her hand free and running it down his chest and stomach. He sucked in a breath.

"I'm game if you are," She shrugged, drawing lazy patterns on the skin near his hip. He was surprised to find that he was quite game.

"Is this normal?" He wondered lightly, rolling over her, holding his body over hers. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close.

"I don't know, but I'm not arguing," She told him, before kissing him deeply. He smiled against her lips, tucking his arms under her shoulders.

They weren’t dead. In fact, it had been a very long time since he had felt this alive.

And there was nothing niggling at the back of his mind. Sweet, sweet silence – other than the noises that Skye was currently making, which were noises that Coulson rather liked, and enjoyed hearing.

Maybe they would be alright, after all.


	27. Chapter 27

**Do you see?**

_Yes._

**Are you frightened?**

_Not anymore._

**Good. You never had any reason to be.**

_You can’t blame us…_

**Of course I don’t. But – now you _see_.**

_Yes… but what am I supposed to do?_

**You already know what to do.**

_But… the tests Simmons had run. It looked dangerous._

**There is always the possibility of danger in change. Do not worry. We will protect the both of you.**

_Why us?_

**It was always you.**

......

 

Skye opened her eyes slowly, momentarily disoriented by the large bed and numerous pillows scattered around her. Then she noticed the sleeping form next to her, and smiled widely as she recalled why she was currently in a hotel room.

She shifted carefully so she didn’t wake him, pressing herself against his side. He was lying sprawled out on his back, snoring lightly, one hand thrown above his head and the other resting on his stomach.

She laid there for a while, admiring his form in the morning light, and eventually couldn't resist brushing her hands across his skin. She slid her fingers across each scar she came across, overlooking the most prominent one. She knew that it was still somewhat sensitive, and she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.

Most of his scars were not very noticeable; probably from his early years as an agent. There was one a couple inches long that ran diagonally across his hip, and she wouldn’t have immediately noticed it, but as it was she traced it as well, wondering of its origins.

The muscles in his lower abdomen twitched, and she smiled to herself, shifting the sheet out of the way so she could maneuver herself on top of him.

“Hmmm….?” He was still half asleep, and she lowered herself gently, sucking in a breath as she discovered she was still a little sore from the previous night. “Skye?” He murmured sleepily, squinting his eyes open to peer up at her. She gave him a soft smile as she rotated her hips, brushing her hair over one shoulder. He moaned and slid his hands over her thighs, gripping her legs firmly.

“Good morning,” She said, and he gave her a slow smile.

“Yes, it is,” He teased, and she laughed and leaned down to kiss him. He kissed her happily for a few moments, lifting his hips upward every now and then to meet hers.

Just as she started to speed up the pace, he placed his hands on either side of her face and gave her a serious look.

“Skye,” He said suddenly, and she immediately slowed her movements.

“What? Too much?” She wondered breathlessly, and he slipped his fingers back so that they pressed against the back of her head behind her ear, his thumbs on the outside of her cheekbones.

Her look suddenly became knowing, and they shifted so that he sat up with her, his legs stretched out under her and hers wrapped around his waist. She brought her hands up to mirror his position, holding his face the same way he held hers.

When he pushed his hips against hers again, she gasped, and his own lips parted open in surprise as well.

With their hands on each other like they were, they couldn't move as much, but that didn’t seem to matter. Everything was more intense, and they hardly blinked as they slowly but surely brought one another to climax, staring deeply into each other’s eyes.

“Nng, _God_ ,” Skye finally couldn't hold it any longer, dropping her head back and wrapping her arms around his neck as she came.

“ _Skye_ ,” He breathed almost in relief, his hands falling from her face as well, pressing against her back to hold her against him as he fell back onto the bed. She stretched her legs out, tangled atop his, breathing heavily. They were sweating as if they’d just spent a few _hours_ doing this, and she knew it couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes.

“What was…” Skye wondered, turning her head to press her cheek against his chest. His fingers brushed through her hair, pulling it to the side.

“I think that was _them_.” Coulson said in wonder. Skye frowned, confused.

“I never felt out of control. Did you?” She asked, turning her head to rest her chin on the back of her hand, seeing him shake his head.

“No. But… I mean, that didn’t feel exactly _normal_ , either.” He pointed out, and then quickly added, “Not that it was _bad_. Not at all,” Skye laughed.

“No, it most certainly wasn’t _bad_.” She agreed.

“Just… that thing with the hands? I wouldn’t have normally thought to do something like that,” Coulson said thoughtfully, moving to sit up against his pillows. Skye rolled off of him and sat up next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

“Me, either. I mean, that position doesn’t allow for much… movement.” She glanced up at him, feeling nervous for some reason, but he looked preoccupied.

“I agree. It was certainly… intimate, though.” He said, looking down at her, and she nodded and smiled. He smiled in return, wrapping his arm around her.

“I think… somehow… I think you’re right; it was them. I mean, that was _intense_ , and I’m not usually that… easy. Even with you.” Skye explained, and Coulson raised his eyebrow.

“Even with me?” He said coyly, and she rolled her eyes, punching his stomach. He flinched and chuckled. “Are you hungry?” He asked, changing the subject, and Skye nodded quickly, the realization hitting her suddenly.

“ _Yes_ ,” She said strongly, and he laughed again, shifting to get out of the bed.

“I’ll call room service,” He said, pulling up his briefs. Skye leaned on her side, propping her head up on her hand to watch him move about the room.

“Might want to put on something more than that. Don’t want the whole world learning about your great ass,” Skye teased, and he raised his eyebrows at her, grinning at her.

 

…….

 

By the time the food had been brought up, he was wearing his suit pants and she one of the provided bathrobes.

“How long are we gonna be here?” Skye wondered as he set out the food.

“We’ll have to leave tomorrow,” He said with a bit of disappointment. “I highly doubt May will be pleased that we’ve skipped out right after someone waltzed onto the base,”

She sighed heavily as she curled herself into the chair across from him at the little table in front of the window. He’d ordered them both pancakes, eggs, and bacon, and she realized with surprise again just how hungry she was.

“I’m going to be _sore_ next time I train with May,” Skye said mournfully after eating a large bite of pancake. “I haven’t gone like that in _years_.” Coulson looked ridiculously proud of himself, though winced as he shifted in his chair.

“It’s… been a while for me, too. _Especially_ so often in one night.” He admitted.

“You think it’s the serum?” Skye wondered, too focused on eating to feel awkward about talking so clinically about their sex habits.

“I think so.” He nodded, and looked out the window thoughtfully for the next few minutes as they both ate in silence.

 

……

 

After breakfast she showered, but then he joined her, and they never ended up getting dressed again before collapsing back onto the bed, a pile of limbs and laughter.

They dozed for a while afterwards, waking up for dinner, finally getting dressed so they could eat at a restaurant somewhere. They ordered wine, and he told her stories about his adventures in New Mexico, and haggling Darcy and Jane and Thor.

When they got back to their room, he took his time exploring her, memorizing what she liked most, the noises she made, the way his name would fall from the back of her throat.

The next morning, she woke him up and repaid him in kind before they got ready to head back to base.

 

……

 

_I thought the wanting would stop. Or at least diminish, some._

**You’ve just bonded.**

_So… honeymoon phase, then? Dammit, don’t those last for a good year, at least?_

**Sometimes.**

_You may find this amusing, but I don’t think anyone else will when we can’t keep our hands off of one another._

“Skye? Skye,” Coulson’s voice roused her from sleep – or whatever it was she did when these conversations happened.

“Hm? Wha?” Skye muttered less than elegantly as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. She’d slouched down in the bucket seat, leaning against the side as if she had tried to get as close to him as possible.

Coulson cleared his throat, somewhat uncomfortably, and Skye realized her left hand was in his lap. She jerked it back into safe territory, feeling her face turn red.

_Blushing, of all things? After the things we’ve done to one another last night?_

“Sorry.” She apologized, and he shifted in his seat a little.

“It’s okay,” He assured her. He waited a beat, and then asked with a smirk, “What were you dreaming about?” She punched his shoulder.

“I…” She wondered if now was a good time to tell him. He’d seemed so relieved to discover that she wasn’t having the same reactions as he was to the serum, she didn’t want him more concerned for her than he already was.

But he also needed to know eventually, and she didn’t like keeping things from him. She sighed and looked out the window as she spoke.

“I dreamed about the Kree.”

“The Kree,” He repeated softly, his tone carefully leveled.

“Well, my Kree, I guess. She’s definitely… a ‘she’.” Skye explained, looking at him, and his brows lifted in concern.

“She spoke to you?” He asked dreadfully. “As a conscious entity?”

Skye nodded, and he released a heavy breath. They were silent for a moment.

“What did she say?”

“Nothing of importance. She … comforts me when I’m concerned.”

“Does she explain what’s going on? Can she help us?” Coulson wondered hopefully, and Skye shook her head.

“Nothing more than what we already know,” Skye said, and his shoulders slouched a bit in disappointment. “Though,” she added, “she did tell me that we are apparently going to have an interesting time keeping our hands off of each other for a while.”

“As if that’s anything new.” He muttered under his breath, raising his eyebrow as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She blushed again, and looked out the window so he wouldn’t see her biting her lip to hold in her amusement.

“When did this start?” He asked carefully. “At the hotel?”

Her silence was an answer of itself, and she glanced over to see him clenching his jaw.

“Remember the hand job on your desk?”

“ _Remember_?” He repeated incredulously, looking over at her. She smirked a little, then pointed front.

“Watch the road.” She told him, and when he returned his eyes up front, she continued, “That night was the first time I understood actual words.” There was a long moment of silence between them.

“Huh.” Coulson said, and Skye raised her eyebrow at him. “Me, too.” He told her. “You know I’ve been aware of it for a while, but that night… he actually spoke to me.”

“What did he say?” Skye asked with interest, and Coulson’s smile had a distinctly inappropriate quality to it.

“Probably something like what you heard during your little nap, there.” He gestured his head toward her, and she choked back a snicker.

“God, they’re perverts.”

“Says the woman who was feeling me up in her sleep. _While_ I’m driving, might I add.”

“Are you saying you _don’t_ want me to feel you up while you’re driving?” Skye challenged him, and he silently worked his jaw for a moment. She grinned and leaned toward him, and he flinched away suddenly enough that the wheel jerked a little. Skye laughed and settled back into her seat.

“I take the Fifth.” He muttered, but she noticed him shift in his seat again, and her grin widened.

 

……

 

“Prepare yourself,” Coulson muttered as he pulled into the garage, parking the car near the Bus. Skye swallowed as she saw May standing by the main door, her feet planted and her arms crossed.

“I’m going to _die_.” Skye moaned, and Coulson reached over to clasp her knee gently.

“No, you won’t.” He assured her, though his eyes looked unsure, and he squeezed her leg before pulling away and stepping out of the car, sliding his hand down his tie and buttoning his suit jacket.

_Director Coulson, once again,_ Skye mused to herself. It was hard to believe that she’d seen him completely naked this morning. She grinned to herself, a sudden feeling of giddiness washing over her, but she quickly dropped the smile as she got out of the car and shut the door.

“Where the _hell_ have you two been.” May was demanding as Skye approached the two of them. She noticed that Coulson had decided to leave his bag in the trunk of the car for the time being. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mack and Trip approaching carefully down the loading deck of the Bus, trying not to call attention to themselves.

“Need to know.” Coulson replied easily, swiping his card and moving past her through the opening doorway. May glared at his retreating form, and Skye ducked her eyes and quickly followed after him before May could turn her gaze completely toward her.

“Yes,” May called out behind them, “ _someone_ needed to know!” May followed them, and Skye had a feeling Mack and Trip were following as well.

They ran into Hunter and Bobbi in the kitchen, and Hunter looked absolutely delighted to stop them from going up the stairs toward Coulson’s office.

“Hey, you two! Where’ve you been? Everyone’s been having a cow; you up and disappear like that.”

“Your comms went out right after I started tailing that girl. What happened?” Bobbi sounded more concerned than Hunter, and Skye glanced toward Coulson. Hunter caught it, and smirked.

“Noticed Lola was gone.” Hunter commented, and Bobbi rolled her eyes at him. May and the others entered the room before anyone could say anything in response to him.

“We need to talk. _Now_.” May demanded, and Coulson nodded in agreement.

“If it makes you feel better to know, I did tell Koenig that I would be travelling for a day or two.” Coulson said, his tone still as if it wasn’t as big a deal as everyone made it out to be. May’s lip twitched; she was clearly keeping down a comment that wasn’t appropriate for mixed company.

“Gone for almost two full days, that’s a lot of one-on-one time.” Hunter mused, and Bobbi elbowed him.

“Not the time, Hunter.” She muttered under her breath, and Coulson smiled at them mischievously. Hunter opened his mouth slowly as a dawning look crossed his features.

“Alright, May,” Coulson sighed, gesturing up the stairs. May went up them first, and then Coulson put his hand against Skye’s back for a moment to lead her up next, following after them without another word to anyone else.

They were all silent for a long beat, and Mack raised his eyebrows toward Bobbi in an “I told you so” sort of way. She shook her head at him, and he shrugged and left, heading back toward the Bus.

“What do you think, mate?” Hunter demanded of Trip, and Trip just laughed, shaking his head as he sat down at the table.

“I think I don’t want to know whether or not Coulson and Skye have been getting it on. That’s their business.”

“That doesn’t _bother_ you?” Bobbi asked with some surprise, and Hunter slid into a seat across from Trip.

“Why should it?” Trip frowned a little. “Skye and I aren’t – she’s my little sister.”

“Not _that_ – I’ve _seen_ you flirt with Simmons, anyway – I mean, Coulson is her _superior_.” Bobbi pointed out, and while Trip gave her a look at her comment about Simmons, he shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

“I don’t know… I’ve been working with them for a while, now. They seemed tight before she was an agent. Even when there _were_ levels, levels didn’t really apply to their relationship.” Trip told them thoughtfully, recalling old memories.

“ _Relationship_?” Hunter repeated pointedly, and Bobbi sighed as she sat down next to him, taking a long drink from her bottle of water.

“Hunter, shut up.” Bobbi said. “I’m not saying I agree with you completely, but it’s obvious there’s _something_ between them. He favors her, and it’s obvious.” Trip shrugged again.

“He sees her as his protégé. Plus, you know, they’ve saved one another’s lives. Same with him and May – May’s allowed to say things to him none of us would dare to think.” Trip decided to keep his growing suspicions to himself. “And I’m not talking making it through a firefight – she was shot and dying when I joined up. And then he’d been kidnapped and tortured – while we were stuck twiddling our thumbs, Skye got out and found him _completely by herself_.”

Hunter whistled with appreciation.

“I didn’t know all that.” He said, and Trip nodded.

“Right? My girl’s pretty badass.” Trip grinned proudly. “Speaking of which,” He stood and moved toward the stairway, “I get to rail into her ass for missing training. For whatever it was they were doing.” He went up the stairs before Hunter or Bobbi could say anything else, pausing in the hall to give the other three some more time before he interrupted.

Also, he was trying to organize his thoughts. Hunter’s accusations were nothing new or serious, but Trip was starting to wonder… He recalled times where Coulson would observe their training sessions, staring at Skye a little harder than Trip thought necessary. _And all of our meetings; they almost always stood right next to each other, didn’t they?_ He looked up at Coulson’s door suddenly, remembering the time he’d caught Coulson’s bodily reaction to her. _Couldn't be._ But he wasn’t sure anymore.


	28. Chapter 28

“What the hell is going on?” May asked, more concern in her voice than anger now that the door was shut and it was just the three of them. “For all I knew, your _other halves_ had taken over,”

“Did Simmons talk to you at all?” Coulson asked, interrupting her, and she raised an eyebrow.

“She told me that during an observation – which, I don’t want to know what goes on, there – the two of you discovered what some of the writing means. And that _you_ ,” She pointed toward Coulson, “have been experiencing more conversations with The Guest. What the hell was I supposed to think?”

“I apologize for alarming you, May, but there was nothing nefarious about our little trip.” Coulson glanced toward Skye. “We wanted some privacy.”

“Oh.” May said, her anger suddenly dissipating as she understood what he meant. She was quiet for a second, and then said carefully, “So, you….?” She looked between them, trying to disguise her distaste for the topic. She didn’t need an answer, by the way they looked at one another, and she held her hands up in the air. “Okay, okay,” She said, before either of them could speak, “I’m still _pissed_ about the way you handled it, but… it’s good to see you haven’t killed yourselves.”

“Not quite,” Skye said under her breath, smirking, and Coulson cleared his throat, giving her a warning look. May held her breath for a moment, reeling in the urge to smack one or both of them.

“So… any _need to know_ changes?” May asked, and Coulson leaned against the edge of his desk, giving the appearance of cool, calm, and collected.

“Let’s get Simmons in here,” He said, reaching for the phone.

 

……

 

“Director Coulson! Skye! It’s good to see you’ve returned in good health,” Simmons said happily as she entered the office. “Hopefully, good health?” She added in a lower tone of voice after she shut the door behind her. May raised her eyebrow. “Triplett is standing just outside the doorway, apparently unsure about interrupting,” She explained.

“Tell him that I’ll call for him when we’re finished here,” Coulson said, and she nodded and stepped back out into the hall for a moment.

“What does he want?” Skye wondered. “Do you think he suspects something?”

“How couldn't he? The two of you have been acting suspicious for months now. I’m surprised no one has approached you sooner.” May pointed out, and Coulson worked his jaw nervously.

“We’ll need to find some way to tell them…” Skye started, and Coulson frowned.

“Not all of them know about the extent of my … reanimation.” He winced. “It’s going to be difficult enough to accept that their boss has alien DNA in his system. Then they find out you do too,” He gestured toward Skye, “and that you and I have been ‘doing weird things’ lately? They’re going to think we’re not trustworthy anymore. They may think neither of us are fit to be in a position of leadership.”

“Those are valid concerns, but, you haven’t made any suspicious decisions for _SHIELD_.” Skye pointed out. “Yeah, maybe you’ve been acting odd lately, but you’ve never extended that toward work. We’ve both been focused on rebuilding SHIELD and taking care of Hydra. What we do in our personal lives is _our_ business.”

“But we’re both SHIELD agents,” Coulson said gently, “and it’s kind of a full-time job. We’re supposed to _protect_ the world from everything outside of it, not _become_ something outside of it.”

“He’s headed back downstairs,” Simmons spoke as she entered the room again. “Sorry that took a minute. He has some concerns…” She looked a little uneasy, and Coulson looked at Skye with an ‘I told you so’ face.

“What kind of concerns?” May asked.

“Well, they’re not necessarily _concerns_ ,” Simmons amended, “he’s just curious about their relationship.” She gestured toward Skye and Coulson.

“Maybe,” Skye said thoughtfully, not entirely listening to Simmons, “becoming something outside of this world can _help_ us protect it.”

“You recall our own concerns we had over this consciousness?” He reminded her, and she nodded.

“Of course. But now that we’ve both had a real interaction with it… I can’t say I’m as worried about a takeover as I was. I think his – hers – the intentions of it are far more innocent than that.” Skye told him, and Simmons raised her eyebrows.

“You’ve both had real interactions with it?” She repeated carefully, looking at Skye in particular.

“He knows,” She assured Simmons. “I told him.”

“You… Simmons knew you were hearing things from the Kree?” Coulson asked, his tone carefully controlled, and he turned his gaze toward Simmons.

“I told her not to tell you,” Skye said quickly. “She told me that you should’ve known but I insisted. I wasn’t even going to tell _her_ , honestly,” She admitted quietly, “but I figured she should know in case something were to happen…”

“And if something _had_ happened?” Coulson demanded.

“But it didn’t!” Skye interrupted quickly. “Nothing bad ended up happening… I’m sorry I kept it from you.”

“If something bad happened to you because of this, Skye, I would never forgive myself.” Coulson told her, and she reached for his hand, squeezing it tightly.

“I’ve never blamed you during all of this. You know that, right?” She told him, and he looked down at her and nodded. She smiled a little at him, and his expression relaxed.

“You better not be about to kiss each other in front of me.” May said dryly, and both of them looked back toward the other two in the room.

“So, the two of you have both had a back-and-forth conversation with the Kree?” Simmons asked, opening her notebook and pulling a pen from her hair.

“Yes. And,” He glanced at Skye to make sure she agreed with him, “neither of us have detected anything sinister. Not yet, anyway…” Skye elbowed him.

“We’ve already done enough speculative worrying.” She said. “I think we need to really start focusing on the stuff we already know.”

“Yes… including,” he gave Simmons a pointed look, “apparently the next step _is_ a blood transfusion.”

“The next step?” May repeated, suspicious. “The next step in what? What does that lead to?”

“But, the tests I’ve run… all of them have had less than desirable results,” Simmons told them nervously, and Coulson shook his head.

“Take new samples from us now. See if anything has changed. I’m not saying we need to do the transfusion right now – in fact, I’d rather not.” He said, and looked at May. “I don’t know what this leads to, not exactly. I’m concerned about that too. However, I know that at the very least, we shouldn’t experience the same reactions now that we’ve… we shouldn’t experience the same reactions as before. There’s some sort of bond, now, protecting us.”

“That makes sense, actually,” Simmons said, and Coulson raised his eyebrow. “We received a notice from Darcy that she had returned to the Tower without any problems, and she had immediately continued her research into the Kree. She said she was able to have a decent discussion with Thor about them, and she learned a lot about the species…” Simmons flipped through her notebook as she talked, and finally stopped at a page, pressing her finger against it. “Kree are powerful beings… some of them having more supernatural powers, as well. A part of their bonding ceremony includes sharing one another’s powers – they literally combine their blood, their DNA, and thus develop whatever abilities their partner has.”

“Wow,” May frowned a little in surprise, “is there a prenup for that?”

“They mate for life,” Simmons said, and Skye and Coulson raised an eyebrow at one another. “The blood bond is the _final_ step, Director Coulson. It solidifies the bond between the two of you.”

“Well,” May smirked, “guess you’re stuck with one another.”

“Wait, wait, wait – supernatural powers? As in, _what_?” Coulson asked. He looked at Skye. “Have you been experiencing any… of that?”

“No,” Skye shook her head. “have you?” He shook his head as well, and Simmons scrawled in her notebook.

“Hm. Perhaps your Kree didn’t have any supernatural abilities. All Kree are fairly strong, though. Have you noticed being able to lift extremely heavy objects, or anything like that?” Simmons asked. Coulson narrowed his eyes as he thought.

“Not particularly….” He said, and Skye shrugged.

“You _are_ rather very fit for a man of your age,” Simmons pointed out, and Coulson raised an eyebrow at her. Skye and May both smirked, holding in their amusement at his expression.

“A man of my age?” He repeated, and Simmons stuttered a moment, and looked back down at her notebook.

“She isn’t wrong,” Skye said innocently, “you are in _very_ good shape.”

“ _Stop_ ,” May groaned, and Coulson couldn’t keep a wide grin off of his face.

“Alright,” Simmons said firmly, pulling Skye and Coulson’s attention again, “I want you two to _keep me updated_. I mean it. Any strange feelings at all, even if it’s just a headache – I want to know about it. Just because you haven’t been exhibiting any other symptoms yet doesn’t mean that you won’t.”

“We will, Simmons.” Coulson told her, and she gave him a speculative look. “I _promise_ ,” He insisted, more annoyed than contrite, and she nodded, closing her notebook and sliding the pen back into her hair.

“Okay then,” Simmons said, folding her hands in front of her. They all stood there in silence for a beat, and she asked, “Shall I go get Trip?” Coulson sighed, and Skye gave him a look.

“We might as well tell everyone, AC,” She said, and Coulson nodded twice.

“Alright. Get the word around, there will be a meeting tonight after dinner. In here.” Coulson told them, and they all nodded. “Essential personnel only.”

“Essential as in…” May asked for clarification.

“The team. Hunter, Bobbi, and Mack included.” Coulson told her, and she nodded. “Simmons? Give us the room, please,” He asked, and Simmons nodded and left the three of them alone, closing the door behind her.

“Do you have a contingency plan? Should something happen, because forgive me if I don’t trust the assurances of an alien consciousness.” May said, folding her arms across her chest and leaning against a filing cabinet.

“Well, there’s always the bullet-in-the-back-of-my-head plan,” Coulson replied flippantly, only partially joking, and winced from both of the looks the women gave him. “Okay, or not.” He shrugged. “It depends on the severity, doesn’t it? I mean, if we _do_ end up being aliens that want control, you’ll _have_ to put us down for the safety of everyone else. If we start exhibiting these _symptoms_ Simmons was talking about, the abilities, then maybe we just need to be isolated until we can learn to control them.”

“Like the Hulk,” Skye piped up, and Coulson hesitated.

“Hopefully not _exactly_ like the Hulk,” Coulson said carefully, and Skye nodded in realization.

“Okay, yeah, powers responsive to emotions would _suck_ ,” She agreed.

“Can I start making those plans?” May asked, and both of them looked at her curiously. She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Contrary to what you may think, the two of you _are_ my primary concern, here. If something happens and you need to get out of the public eye until things cool down, then I can help.” After considering it for a moment, Coulson nodded.

“Alright. Thank you, May,” He said sincerely, and her face softened for just a second. Then she looked back and forth at the two of them, and made a perturbed expression.

“This alien shit…” she shook her head, “is _weird_.” She stood up straight and put her hand on the doorknob. “Should we expect the two of you for dinner?”

“Maybe not,” Skye said, looking at Coulson, “We need to go over what we’re going to tell the team.” Coulson nodded in agreement, getting up off of his desk.

“See you in a few, then,” May said before leaving. Skye sat down in one of the chairs in front of Coulson’s desk with a huff, and Coulson sat in the chair next to her.

“So…” Skye trailed off, not quite looking at him.

“So,” Coulson sighed heavily, reaching up to loosen his tie as he leaned back into the chair.

“We tell them we’ve been in a relationship for a while. Well,” Skye amended, “confused about it for a while. Then we took a couple days for ourselves to figure things out.”

“That’s pretty much the truth, isn’t it?” Coulson raised his eyebrow. Skye looked at him expectantly.

“They’ll need the truth, Coulson. At least part of it. We just keep all this serum business out of it.” She said, and he nodded. She frowned a little, and he leaned forward toward her.

“What is it?”

“Would this have ever happened?” Skye wondered. “You and me. Without the serum, would this have ever happened?”

“Skye,” Coulson said softly, resting his hands on her knees, “Yes, this would have happened.” She looked at him, and he realized she was hiding a lot of worry behind her expression. “It might have taken me a heck of a lot longer to admit it, but…” He laughed lightly and sat on the edge of his chair so he could reach her better. “I highly doubt I could have stayed away from you for very long.” He put a hand on her upper arm, his thumb brushing against her skin.

“Sorry,” Skye tried to laugh it off, “I just,”

“It’s okay,” Coulson interrupted gently, “with the nature of this stuff, of _course_ that’s a concern. But you remember what Simmons asked us, a while ago? About if we’d had any _‘previous attraction’_ before the serum?” Skye smirked a little, scooting forward in her seat as well, and he slowly smiled.

“Yeah,” She said casually, one of her knees between his as she leaned toward him further, “and I remember you saying you would never have acted on it,”

“And you said the same thing,” Coulson recalled, his eyes darting down to her lips as he slowly leaned toward her as well.

“What idiots,” She observed, and he hummed his agreement against her lips.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little something after spending all my time on the wonderful Skoulsonfest. I'm sorry I've neglected this one in the meantime. With work and classes starting very soon, hopefully I'll manage to keep posting at least semi-regularly...

Everyone gathered in Coulson’s office later that night, Coulson and Skye standing together in front of his desk, and the others milled about the room.

“We have May, Fitz, myself, Trip, Bobbi, Mack, Hunter, Billy, and Sam. Is there anyone else you wanted here?” Simmons asked as the others asked one another what was going on. A mission briefing was never this secretive, so they all knew it had to be something big, or something not mission-related.

“This is perfect, for now, thank you Simmons.” Coulson told her with a small smile, though only Skye could tell it was a nervous one. Simmons nodded and stood off to the side, far enough away that she wasn’t a part of the announcement, but close enough that she could provide support should they reveal the serum.

“Ready?” Skye asked, giving his hand a quick squeeze.

“I wish we could have kept this to ourselves a little longer,” He admitted with dismay, “I kind of liked the idea of kissing you in dark corners and behind closed doors, and no one else having a clue.” Skye smirked and bumped her shoulder against his.

“We can still kiss in dark corners,” She promised him, and his eyes glinted with amusement. He then schooled his features and turned toward the room, clearing his throat.

“If you start this with, ‘I’m guessing you’re all wondering why I’ve brought you here today’, I’m leaving.” Hunter announced, and a few of the others chuckled and rolled their eyes.

“What’s this about? Darcy? Because it is a little concerning that she was able to find us without having ever been in the area before.” Bobbi spoke up, and Mack and both the Koenig’s nodded.

“Darcy didn’t exactly break in,” Skye told them, glancing at Coulson. He gestured for her to continue with whatever it was she was going to say. “I created a trail to lead her here, without her knowledge.”

“Why in the world would you do that? I thought we were working in the shadows for a reason.” Mack asked.

“We were testing her. For recruiting purposes.” Skye explained, and Coulson caught on.

“We were in contact with her for quite a while before she arrived on the base. She’s our inside eye at the Tower. If Stark starts building something questionable again, we’ll have a better chance at keeping things from going haywire.” Coulson told them, and most of them nodded in acceptance. Fitz frowned.

“Isn’t that what Maria Hill is for?” He pointed out.

“Agent Hill is the head of security there, and known to still be Fury’s right-hand. If anything was ever amiss with them I’m sure she’d be the first one to be lied to. Miss Lewis, however, has a connection to Thor and has already heard things about the goings on of the Tower from Dr. Foster.” Coulson explained.

“So she works at Avengers Tower? Isn’t the tech there top notch? What’s going to stop her from digging into SHIELD?” Trip asked, and Skye nodded.

“That’s why we gave her a nice, silver, tracking bracelet,” She informed him, giving Coulson a look out of the corner of her eye. He seemed amused by her expression. “She won’t be able to do anything online or otherwise that has anything to do with SHIELD. Unless she manages to get her hands on paper documents, which would frankly be impressive since most of the ones that are left are right here on this base with us, she won’t be able to find anything. And she won’t be able to reveal us to the rest of the world, other than by word of mouth, which we’ve also dealt with.”

“Dealt with, how?” May asked, raising her eyebrow.

“Good old-fashioned threats.” Coulson replied, sticking his hands in his pockets. May pursed her lips and nodded, as if she were pleased by the choice.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Skye said pointedly, leaning into Coulson slightly, “that isn’t what this meeting is about.”

“What _is_ this meeting about?” Sam asked, looking suspicious and displeased about Skye’s familiarity with Coulson. He thought she was being a bit insubordinate, but he never said anything. Coulson never seemed bothered by her.

“We wanted to explain why we had disappeared for two days. There have been far too many secrets, dangerous secrets, among the ranks of SHIELD, and as you already know I want to run things differently.” Coulson began, and everyone nodded as they listened. “I want to assure you that there is no secret mission going on, no side agreements with General Talbot or with terrorists or with Nazis, or anyone else questionable that you can think of. So, the truth.”

“The truth is Coulson and I have been through a lot together.” Skye butted in, wanting to just say it and get it over with. “And we realized that we… are a lot closer than we ever expected, than we ever consciously _noticed_.” Not really a lie, there. “We took some time for ourselves to figure out our relationship, away from SHIELD, away from everything and everyone else.”

“Your relationship,” Hunter repeated, looking like he was containing himself from getting too excited. He raised his eyebrows at Bobbi and elbowed her in the side. She frowned and elbowed him back, and he winced. “Ow.”

“That explains the weird looks during meals and briefings.” Mack commented, squinting his eyes a little. Neither Skye nor Coulson could tell whether he was approving or disapproving.

“I thought so.” Trip mused, grinning at Skye like he was proud of her.

“Is that why the two of you haven’t been doing missions together?” Bobbi asked, and Coulson nodded.

“I was worried that it would become a distraction in the field, and I didn’t want to compromise other members of the team.” He looked at Skye and amended his statement, “Neither of us wanted that.” Because he and Skye both knew that during this entire ordeal, she had been the more levelheaded of the two of them.

Fitz looked thoughtful, but he didn’t speak up. He and Skye made eye contact and she knew that he would ask her his questions later, when the others weren’t around. She appreciated that, because she was pretty sure he knew something else was also at play here.

“So will it? Become a distraction in the field?” Bobbi asked, raising her eyebrow slightly. Coulson figured he deserved that question, since he had asked her the very same thing when he first brought Hunter on.

“If it ever is, we will handle it the same way we have been for the past few weeks – one in, one out.” Coulson hardened his gaze just slightly, reminding them that he was the Director. “I joined SHIELD in my late twenties. I’ve seen a lot of relationships both thrive and fail between members of the agency.” He refused to make eye contact with May, as she was one of the people he was thinking about. “It’s certainly not easy, but it isn’t impossible. Skye and I both understand how dangerous this job is,” Skye pursed her lips but didn’t say anything, her fingers brushing along her stomach before she covered the action by folding her arms loosely across her chest, “and we’re not going to keep one another from doing what needs to be done.”

Bobbi nodded, and smiled a little, accepting his answer but still looking a bit perturbed about the whole thing. She kept glancing between the two of them, as if she couldn't quite figure it out.

“So, you called us all here to inform us… you’re together?” Trip checked, raising his eyebrow.

“I want you to trust that I can still be partial.” Coulson said, and May snorted.

“You’ve _always_ been biased toward Skye,” She replied, and FitzSimmons both nodded, then looked guilty about agreeing so quickly.

“If you think I’m making a compromising decision during a mission, I want you to question me.” Coulson informed them seriously, making sure to look each person in the eye. “I’m telling you because I trust you to keep me focused on the big picture.”

“I’m sure Skye would let you know if you were being ridiculous,” May pointed out with a small smirk, and Skye nodded.

“Oh, yeah.” She gave Coulson a serious look. “I would.” She then looked at the others and shrugged. “He doesn’t always listen to me, though.”

Hunter laughed at that, like it was a ridiculous statement, and Coulson frowned at him indignantly.

“I mean, as long as I don’t walk in on the two of you making out, _like some people_ ,” Mack glanced over at Bobbi and Hunter, “what the two of you do is your prerogative. I’m going to be honest with you, Sir, I’m not sure if I agree with the relationship itself, but I guess we’ll see how it goes.”

Coulson figured it would make them even more uncomfortable if he told them just how serious he and Skye were, so he didn’t say anything in that regard.

“I’m not asking for anyone’s blessing,” Coulson said, firm but not mean, “I’m letting you know how it is.” Mack pressed his lips together. “I chose you all specifically because we usually work more closely than anyone else. I trust you to keep Skye and I’s relationship to yourselves.”

“Is there anything else?” Mack asked, and Coulson shook his head.

“No, that was all, for now.” Coulson told them. “You’re all dismissed, if you have no further questions.”

Skye could detect his anxiousness to get them out before they started poking too far, and she rested her hand low on his back.

Mack nodded and left, and after sharing a look with Hunter, Bobbi followed after him. The others hung around, somewhat hesitantly.

“I won’t have to make further excuses about your absence while the two of you are… talking, do I?” Billy asked mournfully, and Coulson only blinked at him. He sighed heavily. “Okay then.”

“You know, I could give you a list of locations on the base that aren’t as frequently used – ”

“ _Let’s go, Sam_ ,” Billy interrupted his brother and dragged him out of the room. Skye covered her mouth with her hand as she snorted laughter.

“Is this why you missed target training?” Trip asked knowingly, and Skye shrugged half-heartedly. Trip raised his eyebrow and attempted to put a warning expression on his face, but he was struggling too hard against a grin. “Girl, I _knew_ you two had somethin’ going on.” He shook his head at them and gave them a little salute before leaving the office.

“I knew it too, you know,” Hunter said to them, and to Trip, following after him quickly. “Hey, when did you figure it out…” Coulson sighed and closed his eyes for a beat as their voices faded down the hall.

Fitz, Simmons, and May were the only ones left standing across from Skye and Coulson, and Fitz still had that questioning frown on his face.

“There’s more to this, isn’t there?” Fitz accused them, and Skye felt bad for keeping him out of the loop this long. “All those times you’ve kicked me out of the lab, I’ve seen you whispering in the halls, I’ve seen you staring at each other like – like – nothing else exists around you. This isn’t just a _relationship_ , is it?” He turned his frown toward Simmons. “I’ve seen the chalkboard in the back room. That _weird_ room with two beds and a chalkboard. What the hell is going on?”

“Fitz,” Simmons sounded incredibly apologetic, but Fitz spoke again before she could say anything else.

“You think just because I’m – just because my brain is a little – you think I don’t _notice_ things.”

“That’s not true, Fitz.” Skye promised softly. “We didn’t keep this from you because of that – we kept this from _everyone_. We didn’t even tell May until after she had overheard some things.”

“I’m not just _anyone_ , though. I could _help_.” Fitz insisted, hurt. Skye stepped forward and put her hand on his arm, squeezing gently.

“We were _scared_ , Fitz.” She told him quietly, and his expression softened slightly. “But we’ve figured a lot of things out, now. And I’d like to talk to you about it. We could use your help, I think, if you’re willing.” He was silent for a long moment.

“I might.” He finally said, looking at her, and she smiled carefully and squeezed his arm again.

“We won’t keep you out of the loop anymore, Fitz,” Coulson assured, but then warned him, “but what we’re going to tell you _cannot_ be told to _anyone else_.”

“Not even the people who were just in here?” Fitz wondered, surprised. Coulson, Skye, and even Simmons nodded very seriously at him.

“It may cause some concern…” Coulson said carefully, and Fitz frowned again.

“Well isn’t that _why_ they should know?”

“Concern isn’t necessary, Fitz.” Skye explained. “It will only cause trouble. If we thought there were true reasons for concern, we’d tell them. But honestly, we think they’ll just overreact.”

“What sort of things are we talking about, here?” Fitz wondered, folding his arms across his chest. Simmons looked at the other two, and Skye pinched her lips together for a moment as she thought.

“Lack of control?” She said, questioningly, and Coulson nodded in agreement. Fitz narrowed his eyes. “Though we’re getting better at it!” She insisted, and Coulson nodded in agreement again.

“What – control…?” Fitz gestured they elaborate, and Skye glanced at Coulson again.

“Sexually?”

Coulson pinched his lips together, fighting off a smirk. Fitz blinked.

“Perhaps you should start at the beginning,” Simmons suggested to Skye, and she sighed and nodded, gesturing toward Fitz to settle into a chair. She and Coulson leaned against the edge of his desk again, and Simmons sat in the chair next to Fitz.

 

**......**

 

For the next few days, Skye and Coulson were extra careful to be alone together only in the ‘off hours’. The time they had spent in the hotel had apparently been pretty helpful toward their situation, because neither of them felt nearly as ‘out of control’ as they had before. Regardless, though, they wanted to take it easy on the team, and not overwhelm them with sudden bouts of PDA.

Hunter and Tripp both cornered Skye in the armory one day, after target training was over. They wanted to know exactly when Coulson and Skye started having a romantic relationship, because apparently they had a bet between them about who figured it out first.

“I am _not_ telling you that,” Skye informed them with a roll of her eyes, emptying the clip of the Smith  & Wesson and putting the gun away.

“What’s it like?” Hunter wondered, actually serious and not just teasing her, “I mean, he’s so… _no nonsense_.” Hunter scrunched his nose as if that were distasteful.

“Coulson is many things.” Skye said cryptically, a coy smile on her face, and Trip laughed.

“I still say _I_ win. I mean, I _saw_ him when you were shot by Quinn.” Trip pointed out, and Hunter scoffed.

“That’s not fair, I wasn’t even _here_ then! Time should start from when I joined the team!” He complained, looking at Skye for support, and she shrugged.

“Hunter has a point,” She conceded, then shook her head and stepped around them to approach the counter she had been shooting at, flipping the switch to bring the target forward. “I’m not entertaining this bet of yours.”

“Come on,” Trip started, following her.

“ _And_ ,” Skye interrupted him pointedly, as she unclipped her target, “you’d be wrong, anyway, Trip. Coulson and I grew closer because of what happened, but we were far from romantic.”

“Damn.” Trip sighed, stepping back to give her room to pass as she led them out of the room and down the hall.

“I saw the two of you hugging it out in that creepy building we found your dad at.” Hunter said, and Skye gave him a look. “Sorry.” He shrugged.

“I was _sad_.” Skye informed him, and he lifted his hands in the air defensively.

“Breakfast.” Trip said with finality, and Skye gave him a weird look. So did Hunter. “Breakfast,” Trip insisted, “you and Coulson. I interrupted you so we could get to work. You left to change, and Coulson…” Trip trailed off, looked to the side, and smirked.

“Coulson _what_?” Hunter demanded. Skye laughed suddenly, realizing what Trip was talking about.

“Coulson was a bit excited.” Skye told Hunter, and he looked appalled.

“Over _breakfast_?” Hunter exclaimed, and Skye laughed and punched him lightly in the shoulder.

“Obviously it wasn’t the _food_ ,” She rolled her eyes, and he opened his mouth in surprise.

“You and the Director were flirting in _public_ , _and I missed it_?” Hunter groaned and closed his eyes.

“Score! I win!” Trip punched his fist in the air, and they rounded the corner and almost bumped into Coulson and Sam.

“Woah, hey,” Coulson leaned back away from Trip’s fist, looking amused and curious. “What are you three doing?”

“Adding this to my file,” Skye held up the folded target under her arm, “and these two were being useless and pestering.” Trip and Hunter both made indignant noises, but wisely didn’t argue her point. Skye eyed Sam, who was keeping his eyes averted from her for some reason, and then looked at Coulson. “What are you two doing?” She asked suspiciously.

“Nothing important.” Both of them answered at the same time. Coulson gave her a quick smile, and then stepped around them to continue down the hall. Sam scurried after him, holding up his tablet between them again as they walked further away from the other three.

“I don’t even _know_ what this room was used for; it’s completely empty now,” Sam’s voice carried down the hall before they were out of earshot, and Trip raised his eyebrows at Skye. She held her hands up in the air and shook her head, started toward her office again.

“I’m not a part of whatever it is they’re doing.” Skye promised him, though she had an idea.

“Look, love, we’re happy for you.” Hunter told her. “But the two of you are horrible at poker faces when you’re around one another.”

“What are you talking about, that was hardly even a conversation!” Skye pursed her lips as she opened her office door and propped it open with a stuffed-full file box.

“Yeah, and it was long enough for him to get all googly-eyed over you,” Hunter grinned widely as he leaned his shoulder against one of her bookshelves. “Trust me. I’ve been married before. I recognize that look.”

“We _aren’t married_.” Skye muttered, putting her target sheet away and typing at her keyboard to wake her computer.

“Might as well be.” Trip commented, flopping into one of the extra chairs Skye had acquired.

“Alright, peanut gallery, either help me or get out.” Skye complained good naturedly, and Hunter looked insulted, before giving her a little salute and disappearing. Probably to go talk to Bobbi about everything he’d just learned.

“What are you working on?” Trip asked curiously. “More of those symbols?” Skye nodded, sighing heavily as she sat back in her chair.

“Yeah, I know it’s a map, but I haven’t found anything else – ” She trailed off as her various windows opened up, one of them an elevation view of a 3D map. “Oh my God.” She said quietly.

“What?” Trip leaned forward in his chair, getting a closer look at the screen.

“I had a program running an image of the carvings through online sources. And it finally found a match.” Skye told him, maneuvering the window so it was opened on the largest screen in the middle of her desk. “It _is_ a map – a map of a place _on Earth_.”

“Damn,” Trip breathed, sharing a wide-eyed look with Skye. “I’ll gather the others.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline may seem a little out of wack, because I'm not really following canon here. Certain events still happen and will still happen, but not necessarily exactly like they happened in canon. I hope the divergence doesn't get too confusing...


	30. Chapter 30

**Phillip.** **  
**

_You again._

**Were you expecting someone else?**

_Dear God, now you’re sassy._

**I am a part of you, after all.**

_I haven’t forgotten. Trust me._

**You know why I’m talking to you.**

_You want us to do the transfusion._

**Yes. I told her –**

_I’m not happy about that. You using me to talk to her, without my knowledge. Then telling her to lie to me about it._

**That part was for your own protection.**

_I figured you would say that._

**Do the transfusion. Soon. Time is running out.**

_Time for what? What’s going to happen if we don’t? Are we some sort of ticking bomb?_

**Don’t panic.**

_Okay, Douglas Adams._

**That isn’t my name.**

_I wouldn’t be surprised if it was – look, that was sarcasm; it’s not all that different from sass –_

**I am Mar-Vell, on my home planet.**

_I… I read about what happened to you. I’m sorry._

**You are wary and distrustful of me, and yet you feel pain at my shortcomings?**

_Fated or not, I figure you were thrust into this ‘partnership’ without much more choice than I had._

**That’s the thing about fate.**

_Yeah. So… running out of time? You’re not going to answer me about that, are you?_

**Just do the transfusion soon. Danger is coming.**

_What does the transfusion have to do with coming danger?_

_I know you’re still there, Mar-Vell. You can’t exactly leave._

_Dammit._  


\-----

 

After discussing the map and what their next plan would be, Coulson and Skye stopped by the lab so Simmons could take some more blood samples from them.

“You two, especially, should be careful on this mission…” Simmons warned them gently as she prepared syringes. Coulson nodded in agreement, resting his hand against Skye’s lower back as if he couldn't resist touching her once she was in proximity.

“I’m _sure_ Hydra will be there,” Skye rolled her eyes, and Coulson pressed his lips together for a moment.

“We’ll be ready.” He said firmly.

Both of them half expected something to be different about this process, but their blood still looked normal to the naked eye. They hung around while Simmons set up the microscopes, but she soon ushered them out, telling them that she would be working on this while they were out on their op.

“I’ll let you know if there are any new results once you return.” She promised, giving them a look as if she were using this as an order for them to come home safely. Coulson offered her a smile and placed his hand on her shoulder for a moment before they left her alone in the lab.

“Run the plan over with me again,” Coulson requested as they walked toward the locker area to prepare for the mission.

“We’ve got this, Phil,” Skye assured him softly, and a muscle in his jaw twitched.

“Please.” He insisted, this time closer to an order.

“Going off of the very likely assumption that Hydra will be there as well, you will lead a team in through the front; Mack, Fitz, and May. I’ll go in from the back with Trip, Bobbi, and Hunter. Once we assure the area is secure, we meet and start exploring the underground area to see what more weird alien shit we can find.” Skye summed up, and Coulson nodded, pleased with her answer.

“And if I’m in a tight spot?” He prodded, and she frowned.

“I let your team do their job to back you up, and I continue doing my job.” She replied tersely, and Coulson pulled her into him to press a kiss against the side of her head.

“And I the same for you. We’ll be fine, of course. We’ve handled Hydra before.” He said, and she nodded and relaxed, turning into his embrace and returning it. He kissed her forehead, then tilted her face up to kiss her lips. “Let’s suit up.”  


\-----   


Two shots of gunfire sounded through the comms, and Skye tensed in the chair she had been tied to.

“What did you _do_?” A man hissed, sounding sort of far away. Skye realized it was Cal, and she tensed even further. They hadn’t expected Cal. And that also probably meant that Raina was nearby, as well.

“You’re welcome?” Coulson tried, and Skye closed her eyes, wishing she knew what was going on.

“Argh! You killed him! He was _mine_ and you killed him!”

“Shit,” Skye muttered under her breath, eyeballing Ward as she listened to her father losing control.

“And I’ll do the same to you if you even move.” Coulson threatened. Terror crept up Skye’s spine, but she wasn’t sure if she was more worried about Coulson, or about Cal. “There’s no way I’m letting you take Skye away from me, you’re a psychopath and a murderer!”

“You had no right to do that. To take that from me!”

“I know in some insane way, you love your daughter, but I will kill you if you take another step.”

Skye knew Coulson was all bark, the way he kept talking and not shooting; she knew he wasn’t going to fire on her father. And now she was more worried for Coulson, because her father wouldn’t grant him that same respect.

“You took away my chance at revenge, there is no way I’m letting you keep my own daughter from me!” Cal snarled.

More gunshots sounded, further away, and then she could hear the two men grappling with each other before the comms crackled out for a few heart-stopping seconds. It sparked back on in time for her to hear,

“She doesn’t need _you_ , she needs _me_. _I’m_ her father, not _you_!” From the grunts on Coulson’s end, it sounded like he did not have the upper hand.

“Of course I’m not her _father_!” Coulson yelled back, and she heard him land a solid punch against Cal. Cal growled, and then the comms cut out again.

“I’m sorry your little family reunion didn’t go as planned,” Ward even sounded like he meant it, as he knelt down next to the chair and cut the bands holding her wrists behind her back. “But the least I could do is get you out of here,”

She tried to hide her recoil when he rested his palm on her knee, his eyes on the doorway looking for danger. She played demure while he got to his feet and hurried to the door, insisting she stay sitting while he checked it out. She glared at his back, trying to maintain her breathing and stay cool. When he disappeared out into the hallway, she quickly moved over to the downed Hydra agent and took the gun from his leg holster, raising it level with Ward just as he turned around to look at her. She put four rounds into his side, not pausing as she stepped over his fallen body to try and find Coulson.

“Never turn your back on the enemy. You taught me that.”

**Find him. _Find him now_.**

“Where?!” Skye cried out loud, frantically looking both ways where the hallway split into two. If the Kree was urgent, she had good reason to start panicking.

**Left. The stage space. Go now.**

If there was ever a time she was thankful for this connection they had, it was now, because she burst onto the stage to find Cal kneeling over Coulson’s body, punching him repeatedly in the head.

“Stop it!” Skye ordered, pointing her gun toward Cal. “Stop it or I’ll shoot!”

She didn’t want to, God she didn’t want to, but Coulson wasn’t fighting back, and Cal was going to kill him…

“ _Dad!"_

Cal finally stopped, looking up at her as if he were begging her to let him finish.

“He took something from me.”

“No, he _saved you_ , now _get up_ and get away from him.” She ordered, stepping closer until she was hovering protectively over Coulson’s limp form. Cal, dejected, slowly got to his feet and stepped back. If Skye had been only a few seconds later…

“We need to – ”

“ _We_ don’t need to do anything. _You’re_ going to leave. This is your one chance to walk away.” Skye swallowed down the lump in her throat, her heart breaking a little at the expression on Cal’s face. Crazy or not, he was still her father, and obviously cared about her… “Or I _will_ kill you.” Her lip trembled, but he could see that she meant what she said.

“Okay.” He whispered, “I’ll go. But I’ll be waiting for you. I’m your father, and I love you. I will always love you, Daisy.”

Her weapon dropped barely half an inch in surprise at the name, but he turned and walked out of the room, doing as she had asked. She watched him go, wondering, was he just trying to create a connection that wasn’t there, or was Daisy really her name?

Coulson groaned, and she sucked in a shaky breath, immediately turning and dropping next to him, sliding the gun away so she could put both of her hands on him, checking his injuries. His face was almost covered in blood and dirt, and he could barely open his eyes to look at her.

“I’m so sorry,” She whimpered, “I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him and I wanted to and you,” She sobbed, and he slowly reached up to place his hand against the side of her face, comforting her even in his own pain. She covered his hand with her own, holding it against her cheek, her other hand wiping dripping blood away from the corner of his eye. “I’m so sorry.”

“Raina…” He grunted, squinting his eyes closed in pain, and dread coursed through her. “…has the obelisk. Mack, Fitz, Trip… bombs.” He managed, and she grasped onto his flak vest.

“We need to get out.” She realized. “We need to get _them_ out.” She reached for the discarded gun and Coulson halfheartedly grabbed her arm to stop her.

“No,”

“I need to go help them. I need to warn them about Raina,” She pressed a haphazard kiss against his hairline, where there seemed to be less injury, and got to her feet.

“No, Skye, _don’t go down there_.” He cried out after her, but she had to do this, she couldn't have their deaths on her hands.

_Keep him alive. Damn it, if you have any powers at all keep him alive._

**I will do my best.**  


\-----  


They make it. Somehow, incredibly, they get out before the bombs go off and the underground city floods with water.

Mack is strange and distant, and Trip even orders him to be tied down – what’s weirder is Mack doesn’t fight it. But Skye doesn’t have the chance to question it, because she’s currently trying to help May stop Coulson’s bleeding while Bobbi flies them all out of danger.

“What the hell happened?” May demanded as she pulled open Coulson’s flak vest and pulled it off of him. He groaned at the jarring of his body, but they were more worried about the blood that was steadily soaking through his shirt. “We were making sure the explosives were in place and he just disappeared.”

May thought he had gone after Skye, gone off book because of their connection, and Skye shook her head as she ripped the front of Coulson’s shirt away from his body, tossing the bloodied fabric to the floor.

“I don’t know. Ward had me and then – I got away and I found him, he was fighting with my father,” Skye spoke quickly as they worked, grabbing all the gauze wrapping they could find and wrapping it around his torso. He also had a nasty cut over his eyebrow that would need stitches, a broken nose, and fractured knuckles in his left hand. There were bound to be other internal injuries Skye didn’t know about, but the best they could do was settle him in enough for Simmons to work on him once they returned to base.

“Your father?” May repeated, a little more carefully. “I didn’t see him.”

“He got away.” Skye replied, brushing her hand through Coulson’s hair when they had finished what they could.

“I’m going to call Simmons, let her know we’re coming. Skye…” May trailed off, and Skye looked up at her.

“I know.”

May looked sympathetic for a moment, then hardened her expression and left the lab. Skye knew May was just as worried about her friend as _she_ was; May was just doing a better job at compartmentalizing. Skye brushed a tear away from her cheek, unknowingly smearing blood along her cheekbone as she did so. She was covered in his blood almost as much as he was.

“Will he be okay?” She asked very softly, out loud.

**He’s lost a lot of blood.**

“I can see that,” She replied dryly.

**You’ve been putting it off, but fate has now forced itself to correction.**

“Fate.” Skye repeated. “What’s bound to happen, will happen…” She quoted. “And it’s a bitch.”

**You can’t fight a rising tide.**

Skye didn’t reply, she only stood next to the lab table as they flew back to base, holding Coulson’s uninjured hand in her own.

As soon as the wheels touched down, Trip was there to help Skye get Coulson’s unconscious body to the awaiting bed, where Simmons was standing with a tense expression on her face.

“Injuries?” She asked as the two of them and Fitz wheeled the bed to the medbay, and Trip nodded them off before turning to retrieve everything else from the Bus.

“Fractured hand, probably broken or fractured ribs, the cut along his forehead definitely needs stitches, possible broken nose…” Skye trailed off as her voice quavered.

“Can you be here?” Simmons demanded, not unkindly, but she needed steady hands to help her. Skye bit her lip, shook her head as tears started building again.

Her _father_ had done this to him.

“Rogers, Martin!” Simmons called, “I need hands!” Her lab techs appeared immediately, trailing behind them as they wheeled the bed into the isolation room. Fitz was still covered in dirt and grime from the mission. “Fitz, wash your hands, prepare what we need for a blood transfusion.”

“Who’ll donate? What’s his blood type?” Martin wondered as Fitz nodded and moved to the sink. Simmons glanced up toward Skye, and she swallowed and firmly nodded, rolling up her sleeve passed her elbow.

“Agent Skye’s a match,” Simmons replied as they hurriedly cleaned away blood from Coulson’s skin so they could see what they were doing.

“Really? Isn’t he AB negative?” Rogers said incredulously, and Skye pursed her lips.

“Should they be in here for this?” She asked Simmons, and Simmons kept working as she told her,

“I need the hands, Skye. Do you want him alive?”

Skye sat in a chair out of their way while they figured out where the blood was coming from, and worked on closing the wound. Fitz set up the transfusion equipment, instructing Skye to sit back in her chair as the blood started moving through the tubing. She watched it flow from her body into Coulson’s, everything about its appearance normal. Except, perhaps…

“Jesus, Fitz, cut that down or you’ll drain her dry!” Martin insisted when he lifted his gaze to check on them.

“I set it exactly how Jemma taught me to!” Fitz protested, and Simmons paused her stitching to look at it.

“He’s right,” She frowned, shifting her gaze to Skye, “it’s not the machine.”

Her blood was literally _racing_ to reach Coulson’s body as fast as possible, is if it knew they were running out of time, or perhaps, it knew that it needed to be bonded with him…

“Simmons,” Skye said a minute later, “we might as well do the whole thing now.” If he was going to die because of her blood in his system, then she was going to risk the same.

“The whole _what_?” Rogers wondered, taking bloodied gauze from Simmons and setting it aside in a tray. Simmons sighed and wiped her forehead with her wrist, having just finished stitching up Coulson’s forehead.

“I can finish the rest on my own. Thank you, gentlemen.” Simmons dismissed them, and while they gave her incredulous looks, they left the medpod and went to clean themselves up. Fitz stood near the door, half on guard and half wanting to be around in case something went wrong.

Simmons checked Coulson’s nose, determining that it wasn’t completely broken and it would set fine, and snapped the gloves off of her hands. She threw them away and put new ones on, setting up another syringe this time leading from Coulson’s body into Skye’s.

“We will take less from him, considering he’s got less to give at the moment,” Simmons murmured as she knelt in front of Skye, wiping her skin clean with an alcohol pad. Skye nodded silently, staring at the needle while Simmons worked. Once it was all set up and blood was flowing, Simmons sent Fitz out of the room to get some towels and a bag of ice for Coulson’s hand.

“Once I get his hand elevated and iced, I’m going to leave a brace in here for you to put on once the swelling goes down. It needs to immobilize the first two fingers of his hand, secure around his wrist, and the back of his palm.” Simmons instructed, using her own hand as a guide. Skye nodded.

“I’ll do it.”

“How are you feeling? Light headed?” Simmons checked her pulse as she questioned.

“A little,” Skye admitted, “but I’ll be fine.”

“You both will be.” Simmons assured her. “You found him in time, Skye.”

“Barely,” Skye whispered, looking passed Simmons and toward Coulson’s pale face.

“Skye… you understand why I need to leave the room?” Simmons asked carefully, and Skye looked back up toward her friend.

“Yes.” Skye said more levelly. “Just in case… the powers.”

“The two of you are strong,” Simmons said encouragingly, “the strongest people I know. Whatever happens…” She trailed off, and Skye looked at her curiously.

“Did something happen with the tests, while we were gone?” She remembered, and Simmons looked like she didn’t want to tell her.

“Yes.” Simmons said, looking away from Skye. “The molecular structure…”

“ _Jemma_.”

“It bonds without damage, but it’s no longer human, Skye. It still results in non-human DNA.” Simmons finally said, making eye contact again. They stared at each other in silence, and before Skye could say anything, Fitz was back in the room with the requested items. Simmons moved away to carefully work on Coulson’s hand, and Fitz fidgeted nervously near Skye.

“He’ll be okay.” Fitz said, as if he were encouraging himself, and Skye nodded distractedly.

“Yeah…”

“Fitz, let’s give them some space.” Simmons suggested quietly, putting a hand on Fitz’s arm to lead him out of the room.

“Wait, but what about the…”

“The machine will cut off once they are both regulated.” Simmons assured him, their voices fading out as they stepped further away and Skye’s focus zoned in on Coulson’s body. She didn’t even entirely notice when Simmons stepped back in to set a black brace at the foot of his bed, or locked the room behind her when she left again.

_We will no longer be human?_

The Kree was silent.


	31. Chapter 31

Skye jerked awake with a gasp, sitting up and gripping the arm rests of the chair tightly as she tried to steady her head. Everything was disjointed, and she felt like she was rolling head over heels.

“Skye? Skye!” She acknowledged the croaking sound of Coulson’s voice, but she was too busy trying to orient herself. She knew she was sitting on a chair, but she couldn't get her equilibrium on track.

“Oh, god,” She muttered, managing to lean over what she hoped was the side of the chair as she felt the bile rise in her throat. Cool hands pressed against the back of her neck, holding her hair out of the way as she emptied her stomach onto the floor. When she had nothing else to upchuck, she slowly sat up again, the room around her eventually coming to a rest.

“Are you okay?” Coulson’s form swam in front of her for a moment, and she blinked heavily. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, favoring his ribs by slouching a bit to the side, but otherwise he seemed alert and focused.

“I’m… I’m good. What are you doing? Sit back, you’ll hurt your ribs more,” Skye shifted to the edge of her seat, putting her hands on his knees, and he brushed his fingers down the side of her neck before letting her go.

“I think my ribs are the least of our worries,” Coulson replied carefully, but he slowly did as she asked and settled back against the pillows, his bed tilted up enough that he could look her in the eye.

“Sorry, I’ll clean that up in a second… just light headed. Probably because I gave you half of my blood.” Skye replied wryly, chuckling at herself, grimacing at the taste in her mouth. Coulson still had that worried tilt to his brow, though, and didn’t smile.

“It’s okay,” He said instead, “take your time.” He hesitated, then asked, “Are you hurt? You were crying in your sleep.”

She wiped at her face, surprised to feel the remnants of tears on her cheeks.

“Minor bruises and scratches, I’ll be fine…” She trailed off as she tried to remember what she had been dreaming about. Perhaps it was visions of her father attacking Coulson?

_Let me die! Please, just let me die!_

Skye jerked in her seat and swallowed hard. It had been a while since she’d had nightmares about that… about what she had heard Coulson screaming when she had saved him from Raina.

_Please…_

These weren’t images of him in a desolate cabin in the middle of the desert, though. She frowned as she tried to focus on details. Metal, sharp, clean, electronics, nurses, doctors…

“Skye,” Coulson whispered, and when she focused back on his eyes, he looked terrified. What was she doing? Was she reading his mind?

“I don’t, I’m sorry, I don’t know what,” She scrambled, trying to stop whatever it was she was seeing in her mind. Her vision was getting disjointed again, and if she hadn’t just thrown up she was sure she would again.

She closed her eyes tightly, hoping the darkness would help her settle herself again, and something metal clanged against the floor in the corner of the room. It continued to rattle against the linoleum, however, and she opened her eyes to stare at it.

It was _shaking_ , like somebody was holding onto it and banging it around. That was when she realized other objects in the room were shaking as well, as if they were experiencing a minor earthquake.

“Skye,” Coulson breathed, his eyes trained on the medical device on the floor. “What’s… what’s doing this?” He sounded half astounded, half terrified – and it was the terrified part that caused her blood to run cold. She whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut again.

If this was _her_ , she needed to stop, before she hurt him –

Suddenly everything did stop, and her eyes widened as a burning sensation started in her fingertips. It traveled across her hands, up her forearms, bone-deep as if someone was setting her on fire from the inside out. She opened her mouth, but she was in so much pain that she couldn't make any noise, her throat caught.

“No!” Coulson yelled, and then she blacked out.

\-----

“One of them should have stayed behind! I warned you that Coulson was compromised, and you didn’t listen!” Mack’s angry voice was the first thing she registered as she slowly came back into awareness. She had no idea how much time had passed, but now there were multiple voices outside of the room, and they didn’t sound happy.

“My judgement was not wrong, Mackenzie,” May sounded threatening, “Coulson would have been injured regardless. Cal never liked him.”

“He wouldn’t have run into Cal if he hadn’t gone off searching for Skye! You _know_ as soon as he heard that Ward had her that he wouldn’t stay behind,” Mack argued.

“Look, mate, we know you’re all keyed up after being brainwashed by aliens, but this wasn’t your fault,”

“The hell it wasn’t! I went down there because we were short a man, and then Raina was able to do whatever the hell it was she did with the obelisk! If Coulson had stayed at his post we would have blown those charges a lot earlier,”

“You talk as if she’s still a danger to us,” Trip reasoned, “There was no way she made it out before the place caved in. We were all there, we would have seen her.”

“I’m not worried about _her_ , I’m worried about the other obelisks! Hydra was there, as we expected – and now we know for a fact that they have at least one of these things in their possession,” Mack was still irate.

“You need to calm down.” May ordered threateningly, and Skye swallowed, clenching her fists together slowly, hoping not to call attention to herself. She could feel herself growing panicked, and her heartrate was speeding up.

“Are we not going to talk about the fact that Ward was there, and yet his body was never found? _She_ was the last one to see him,” Skye could feel Mack’s finger pointed at her, “How the hell did he escape without help?”

“ _Mack_ ,” Fitz insisted quietly, and Skye bit her lip.

“We need to find Raina, and we need to find Ward! We can’t just sit around and lick our wounds – we have to go after them while we have the upper hand!”

“You need to _chill_ , Mack, you’re still riled up – ”

“You don’t have any right to tell me what to do!” Mack interrupted Hunter.

“But as acting Director, _I_ do.” May ground out. “Stand _down_ , Mackenzie, before I shoot you with an Icer myself.”

“You guys are so fooled by this ridiculous _in love_ story that you can’t stop to think that she’s _using_ you all and is really working with Ward!” Mack said darkly.

“You don’t _mean that_ ,” Hunter argued, sounding as if _he_ was insulted by the insinuation, “that’s just the alien juice talking,”

The plastic container of Coulson’s pain pills rattled violently on the bedside table, Skye’s vision swimming and tilting even as she reached out to grab it before it hit the floor.

The argument suddenly quieted, and she looked up to see everyone looking into the room. She blinked, knowing she looked just as terrified as she felt, and the bottle shook in her hands in a completely natural way as she took in their various facial expressions.

“Simmons,” Fitz said quietly, and Simmons squared her shoulders and glared at the others.

“Get out.” She ordered, and May stared everyone down until they did just that, Mack shouldering off Hunter’s hand of support as his friend guided him toward the hallway.

May stayed behind with Fitz and Simmons, and Bobbi hesitated before leaving.

“What’s going on?” She asked. “With them? They’re in containment, and I know they didn’t encounter any biohazard chems out there. And Coulson was half dead but suddenly now he,” She stopped, gesturing toward him in an attempt to finish her sentence.

Simmons sighed, and Skye looked at Coulson. He was still lying on the bed, miraculously asleep, but he wasn’t hooked up to morphine anymore. His pallor had returned to normal, there was very little bruising around his nose and eyes, and the stitches on his forehead looked like an old, almost disappeared scar.

“How long was I out?” Skye whispered, her throat raw as if she’d been screaming.

“I don’t know.” Simmons answered her instead of answering Bobbi. May didn’t kick the other agent out of the room, though; she just warily stood guard near the door. Simmons opened the door to their room, and Skye flinched away from her slightly.

“I don’t,” She wasn’t sure what she was going to say, she wasn’t sure what was going on.

“It’s okay,” Simmons assured her softly. She made a pained noise in the back of her throat as she gently took Skye’s hands in her own. “How do you feel?”

“I,” Skye gasped when she looked down at her arms. They were mottled in dark, purple bruises, from her hands all the way up to her elbows.

“Coulson must have hooked you up to his morphine drip at some point, because when I came in here you had these bruises and you were asleep.” Simmons explained, still moving very carefully as she took the pill bottle from Skye, setting it back onto the bedside table. “I checked on him, and… he’s fairly well healed.”

“How?” Skye wondered, still staring at her arms. The morphine explained why she couldn't feel anything other than an uncomfortable pressure, and she was still fairly light headed.

“I don’t know, but I imagine…” Simmons looked at the transfusion machine, and then back toward Fitz.

“Where did those come from?” Bobbi wondered as she stepped closer, not into the room, but just outside the doorway where she could see more. “I didn’t know you were hurt,”

“I … wasn’t…” Skye sucked in a breath as she remembered the severe vertigo, the shaking, it all stopping and Coulson sounding worried… She looked at the floor, but it was spotless. Simmons half-smiled, awkwardly.

“I cleaned it up, don’t worry. Far from my first rodeo.” Simmons tried to make her feel less embarrassed about throwing up on the floor.

“Is he okay? I didn’t hurt him, did I?” Skye asked quickly, terrified. She looked at Coulson but kept her back against her chair, scared to touch him.

“No, no, he’s fine. In fact, at this rate,” Simmons lowered his sheets to his waist so she could check his ribs, “He seems to be doing better than you.”

“The braces you wanted?” Fitz spoke up, having entered the room with what looked like two large wrist braces in his hands.

“Yes, thanks,” Simmons took one from him, indicating Skye lift her right arm. She could lift it from her shoulder, but it hurt too much to try and use any of the lower muscles. “You’ve broken the bones in both your arms,” Simmons explained quietly as she encased Skye’s arm inside the cast, “I was able to use some technology provided by Stark Enterprises to repair them a bit without surgery, but you’ll need to wear these until you heal completely. The breaks were fairly common breaks, but so many blood vessels had exploded…” Simmons furrowed her brow as she shook her head, perplexed as to how it had happened. “These will help you heal faster. I’m sorry they’re a bit cumbersome.”

By that point, she’d had both casts over Skye’s arms, and had fiddled with the morphine drip still attached to her.

“You know the drill, press the button if you feel too much pain coming on.” Simmons rested her hand on her shoulder companionably.

“You should get him out of here.” Skye swallowed, looking toward Coulson again.

“I’m not so sure that’s – ”

“You said it yourself, he’s healing far more than I am.” Skye interrupted her. “I don’t want to hurt him. Please, just wheel him into the medbay and give me an empty bed.”

“How would you hurt him?” Bobbi wondered, and Skye looked at her as she tried to find the words.

“She has a point, he is far more healthy, and she should have a bed to sleep in.” Fitz put in, quickly moving out to get one of the empty beds.

“Why was everyone arguing?” Skye winced as she asked, reaching for the morphine drip as the burning sensation started to slowly return.

“It’s nothing, Skye, Mack’s just a little confused since…” Bobbi trailed off, and Skye looked sharply toward Simmons, who was working on mobilizing Coulson. He was still fast asleep, or at least doing a _really_ good job of pretending.

“Since what?” Skye asked quickly, worried.

“He went into the caverns to assist Trip with setting the charges. We’re not sure what happened, but… he was… taken over by something.” Simmons tried to explain.

“Like the staff?” Skye wondered, and Simmons shrugged.

“A bit, except the staff is still locked up. It was like he was guarding something down there… he wouldn’t let us get too close, and once Raina ran by him with the obelisk, he wouldn’t let Trip after her. They even fought a bit…” Simmons told her.

Skye was worried about the implications, that something alien had somehow taken over Mack as well, but the morphine was starting to hit her and she could feel herself dozing off.

“Bobbi, please help me move her to the bed…”

“Sure thing. Do you think… should I stay around for a bit, watch over her?”

“I think she would appreciate that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I haven't updated this one for a stupid long amount of time. Life got a little crazy, I got pulled away, then I lost my Muse for a while... After dabbling in enough other Skoulson stories, I forced myself to reread this one from the beginning, get my Muse back, and start chipping away again. So, I have a few new bits written now, and I will be updating them as I go through the editing process.
> 
> And don't worry about Mack, I'm sure he'll come around. :-)


	32. Chapter 32

Her chest felt cold, colder than she’d ever experienced before. It felt like ice was emanating from beneath her skin, her bones, and her heart…

Her heart stuttered, and then it stopped.

She blinked, but there was nothing. She was still alive, but her heart definitely wasn’t beating. Was this what death was like? A few seconds of realization before blackout?

She wasn’t blacking out, though. She heard a chuckle from somewhere in front of her, the sound itself light but the tone dark, almost evil.

_Where is my disadvantage?_

She didn’t recognize that voice, but she definitely didn’t like it. Was the team arguing outside of her room again? That didn’t make sense… there were sounds like rushing wind, constant but far away.

_Clocking out here…_

Coulson? What the hell, why did he sound like – he was _healing_ the last time she’d been awake –

_Not an option._

Oh.

God.

What she now knew to be his last breaths, his _first_ last breaths, were overwhelming. Loud, and heavy, unrealistically covering up any other sound she should or shouldn’t be hearing right now. What the hell kind of vision was this? Was this Mar-Vell doing something crazy again?

It was coming, she knew it was coming, any one of these breaths was going to be his last and she started panicking, pressing at her chest with her fingers in a futile effort to feel her (his?) heart beating. It was difficult, with the braces on her arms, but that sensory input boosted her resolve. This _was_ just a vision; she was still in the medpod, still had casts on her arms, he was still alive.

But then he stopped breathing, and she held her breath too. Waiting until he would breathe first. Of course, he wasn’t. She knew from his file that a long time would pass before that happened.

“ _Coulson_!” She cried out, the reality she had been experiencing shattering away like stained glass.

Glass that rained down around her as she clutched at her head, and she realized that one of the lamps in the medpod had blown.

Urgent rapping on the window forced her gaze upward, and she sobbed again in relief when she saw that it was Coulson, standing just outside the medpod, his hands pressed against the glass desperately.

She stumbled out of the bed, needing to get closer, to prove that this wasn’t just another vision, but she couldn't get the door to open. Frustrated, she tapped at the number pad angrily, but it kept flashing red at her.

“Skye! Skye, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Coulson soothed, though he looked like he hadn’t slept in a long time; his eyes bloodshot and red-rimmed, heavy stubble on his jaw, clothes tousled.

“I thought you were, I saw you,” She heaved, but nothing came up, and she put her hands on her knees and tucked her head as she willed herself to stop hyperventilating.

“I know, I know, but I’m here,” Coulson insisted, his voice tight like he was trying not to cry. She looked back up at him, placing her palms best she could over his through the glass. “I’m so sorry, they won’t let anyone but Simmons in, they’re worried…” He swallowed, steadied himself. “Sometimes things happen while you’re asleep.”

“The rattling?” Skye replied, and he nodded, his eyes wide. “It _is_ me.” She whispered, taking a step away from the glass.

“No, don’t,”

“You should stay out there,” Skye nodded slowly, walking backwards toward her bed, reaching out to feel for it and sitting on the edge.

“I’m not scared of you, Skye! We can figure it out, it’s like Mar-Vell said – ”

“He _wanted_ this!” Skye interrupted, hearing a heart monitor start to beep warningly. Simmons must’ve hooked her up at some point while she was asleep. “Of course it wasn’t going to kill us – it was going to turn us into monsters!”

“No, Skye, you’re not a monster,” Coulson insisted, walking around the side to try and be closer to her. “This is just – this has saved our lives! We _have_ to make this good!”

Something in his eyes, in his voice, made her pause.

“You had visions too, didn’t you?” She asked. “About me.” He hesitated, swallowed, and nodded, his eyes filling with pain. “About me dying.”

“They’re memories, Skye.” He whispered. “They – I _felt_ it…”

The heart monitor was incessant, and it was only making her more agitated.

“I’ve felt you die once and I won’t be the reason you die again.” Skye shook her head, pressing her forehead into her hands as she struggled to regain control.

“What’s happening?” Simmons demanded as she burst into the medbay, immediately moving toward Skye’s door and pounding in the code. Coulson was right at her back, determined to follow her into the pod.

“She had a nightmare,” Coulson said, not wanting to go into details, and when Skye realized they were both coming into the room, she slid back and off the other side of the bed, putting the furniture between them.

“Don’t, I can’t control it! I can’t help it!” She warned them, backing against the far wall. Coulson approached her anyway, his hands in front of him.

“You just need to calm down, Skye, you _can_.” He urged, looking like it was killing him to see her like this.

She shook her head, avoiding looking at his face, but unable to back away any more. She shrugged him off when his hands first touched her upper arms, but he reached forward again and pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly.

His heart beat firmly against her ear, and she sobbed, and everything stilled.

Except his heartbeat; that drowned out anything that Simmons may have been saying.

**\-----**

“So… what, she causes earthquakes when she gets agitated? _How_? Did she somehow come into contact with the obelisk? And how is it that Coulson can calm her down? How come he’s not affected by her?” Bobbi demanded, and Fitz pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to organize his thoughts.

“Coulson _is_ affected by her, just not as _directly_. She could focus her… abilities… toward him, but naturally they tend to, eh, shirk away?”

“ _Why_?” Bobbi wondered.

“Because she loves him?” Fitz shrugged.

“She loves _all of us_ , though, Fitz. I know she wouldn’t want to hurt any of us more than she would want to hurt him.” Bobbi reasoned, and Fitz sighed heavily.

“I don’t know, alright, why don’t you ask her?” He grumbled, exhausted from sifting between what he could tell the others and what he couldn't. He got up from the dining table and left the room.

“May,” Bobbi started when the still-acting Director walked into the room five minutes later.

“I need you to copilot the Quinjet with me. I’m taking Skye and Coulson to the Retreat for a while.” May announced, and Bobbi blinked.

“I – is that – together?” She wondered, and May raised her eyebrow slightly.

“It’s secluded enough that Skye can practice her control without gathering attention. Also… I have a feeling it would be worse if Coulson _doesn’t_ go along.”

“Has he left the medbay at all?” Bobbi asked quietly. She didn’t want to gossip about the Director, but she was worried about him.

“Only to shower and freshen up. It seems Fitz brings him his meals so he can sit on a stool 24/7 and pout at a glass wall.” May scowled, then glanced at Bobbi. “I didn’t say that.”

“Of course not.” Bobbi replied quickly. “Wheels up in ten?” She asked, and May nodded. Before she could leave however, Bobbi spoke up again, “May, do you know… do you know what’s happening to her?” May’s eyes softened a little, and she didn’t meet Bobbi’s gaze.

“Perhaps one of them will be willing to talk with you during the flight.” May conceded, and left. Bobbi nodded to herself, chewed her lip thoughtfully for a moment, and then headed down the hall toward her quarters to prepare for flight.

**\-----**

Skye and Coulson sat next to one another in the back of the Quinjet, Skye nervously tucking her hands between her knees. She’d gotten more used to the arm braces by this point, but the constant reminder that there was something _different_ about her had her feeling stressed almost twenty-four-seven. An alien entity coexisting inside your head was one thing; powers that you couldn't control and that were _very noticeable_ was something else.

“Did Ward force you to touch one of the obelisks?” Bobbi asked softly, carefully, once they had reached cruising altitude and May had indicated she could join the other two in the back.

Coulson reached over and rested his hand on Skye’s knee, squeezing gently in support. She curled her fingers around his.

“No,” Skye eventually sighed, glancing at Coulson. He nodded, so she looked at Bobbi and continued, “This isn’t from the obelisk.” Bobbi furrowed her brow.

“Are you saying… are you saying you aren’t… human?” Bobbi asked incredulously. “But this – how did this all of a sudden happen? I’ve been living with you for a year and a half and none of this started until after San Juan.”

“Before you were hired – before we even had this base, I was shot.”

“It started before that.” Coulson interrupted gently, and Bobbi looked at him in surprise. “You know that I got injured in New York,” He began, and Bobbi nodded.

“Right. And the best R and R any agent ever had; Tahiti.” Bobbi replied, and he winced slightly. Skye tightened her fingers around his.

“Not exactly.” Coulson said wryly, and Bobbi raised her eyebrow in suspicion. “My recovery involved an experimental process…”

As Coulson explained what Tahiti really meant, Bobbi listened quietly, leaning forward the more she heard, surprise etched across her face. By the time Coulson got to the point of also using said experiment to save Skye, Bobbi had her elbows propped on her knees and her mouth was parted in shock.

“You _both_ have _alien DNA_ swimming through your veins?” She repeated, sitting back in her seat as she tried to fathom all of it. “Oh my God,”

“We’ve had our concerns, obviously. Simmons has been monitoring us since the beginning,” Coulson flubbed slightly, not even glancing once at Skye and giving it away, “but nothing dangerous ever presented itself.”

“Unless you count death by sex,” May’s mutter floated toward them from the front of the plane, and Coulson warningly cleared his throat. May didn’t add anything else.

“Was it proximity to the obelisks that did something?” Bobbi wondered, choosing not to comment on May’s words. “I just can’t imagine that this timing was all a coincidence.”

“Coulson lost a lot of blood, and he needed a transfusion. Because of the alien DNA, Simmons and I knew that I was the safest bet to be a viable donor.” Skye told her.

“So how did you giving _him_ blood end up in _you_ having these… powers?” Bobbi asked.

“Simmons had run some tests on our blood and… there was a chance that something might happen to one of us should our blood mix. I figured that if it was going to kill him, then I would put myself under the same risk.” Skye said bluntly. Bobbi was silent for a moment, and looked saddened.

“What if you _had_ died?” Bobbi asked quietly. “If we lost both of you in one fell swoop, do you honestly believe we would survive the fight against Hydra?”

Coulson raised his eyebrows in surprise, about to argue with her, but Bobbi shook her head.

“You guys are our pillars. SHIELD isn’t yet strong enough to survive without you – you have to know that.” Bobbi sounded chiding, now. “That was stupid. And reckless.” Before Coulson or Skye could say anything in response, Bobbi continued, “And what about you? Can you do… anything?”

“I don’t think so.” Coulson shrugged, deciding to keep the weird shared-memories thing quiet for now. He wasn’t sure what that was, anyway. It was hard to explain, because it wasn’t just past memories that he and Skye were sharing… he knew every single moment Skye ever felt threatened; past, current, maybe even future. And he knew that she felt the same from him.

“This is so… I guess not very many people know about this, huh?” Bobbi clarified, and Coulson nodded.

“You, May, Simmons, and Fitz. Keep it between the four of you, especially right now… None of this changes who we are as people, but the others are already scared and on edge about anything unidentified, anything not human.” He looked at Skye, turning his hand around to press his palm against hers. “Skye is still a good person. She’ll figure this out.” He spoke confidently.

“Of course she will,” Bobbi said with determination, “she’s a rockstar.”

Skye looked up at Bobbi again, touched by her support, and returned the smile from her friend.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter goes to Daisy, who's birthday I'm late for, and Coulson, who's birthday is today and I've managed to be on time about it for once.
> 
> And, as most of you know, Cabin=Sex. Just a forewarning ;)

“Get settled in, I’ll double check the perimeter with Bobbi. Then we’re going to get you supplies, and I’ll have her drop me off again before she heads back to base.” May informed them as Coulson pressed his palm against the reader by the front door of the cabin. Skye looked at her in surprise.

“But, you’re acting Director, you can’t – ”

“I can explain to Bobbi our contingency plan; do you trust her to follow through with it? To not tell the others at any point you lose control and she gets scared?” May challenged, and Skye stood her ground more firmly.

“I trust Bobbi.” Skye confirmed, and May looked mildly impressed, but still dubious.

“Well... I’ll have her keep me informed.” May conceded, and Coulson nodded as he opened the door for Skye to walk through first.

“And make Mack your Assistant Director.” Coulson told her, and May frowned.

“Mack is questioning of _everything_ , and especially suspicious about the two of you,”

“Exactly why he should be helping you.” Coulson interrupted calmly. “I trust him to do a good job.” In a more confidential tone, Coulson added, “Melinda, you have the experience at your side, but you know you’re too close to this. You care about Skye and me – it’s obvious by the fact you brought us out here without telling the others. Not that I’m saying this was a bad idea, but SHIELD needs someone around to make the hard calls.”

May was quiet for a few moments, but she eventually nodded.

“You’re right. That’s not me, right now.” She conceded, and Coulson squeezed her shoulder companionably, quickly pulling his hand away before anyone else noticed their friendly moment. May's mouth quirked up slightly, in appreciation, and then she turned and gestured to Bobbi to help her check the perimeter. She would explain the plan while they were getting supplies for the cabin.

Coulson stepped into the house, closing the door behind him and relishing for a moment the complete silence that surrounded them.

Skye was poking around, checking out the space, and met him in the living room.

“There’s only one bedroom.” She told him as he set down her duffel bag by his feet. He put his down next to hers, and rolled his shoulders.

“The sofa has a pull-out bed that, if I recall correctly, isn’t half bad.” He replied, and Skye raised her eyebrow. “Banner designed this place. It’s fortified to handle the Hulk,” Coulson explained instead, rapping his knuckles against the island counter that separated the kitchen from the living room. “So don’t ever worry if you feel like you’re about to lose control. Plus, there’s at least a good hundred miles between this place and the nearest populated area, and the perimeter is guarded with a silent alarm system and a fairly powerful fence.”

“To keep me in?” Skye muttered, and Coulson put his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

“To keep enemies out.” He corrected her. He waited a beat, until her expression softened slightly, and he added, “Plus, you know, Cap stayed here for a while after we thawed him out.”

“I _knew_ there was a reason you had that spark in your eyes when you walked in here.” Skye teased, relaxing even more.

“Maybe I was excited about hearing there was only one bedroom,” Coulson challenged, his eyebrow twitching a little as he stepped closer to her.

“Envisioning a threesome with Bobbi?” Skye mused, still teasing, moving closer as well so that their chests were almost touching. Coulson chuckled, rolling his eyes.

“Bobbi is a beautiful woman, but, no, I’m a one-girl kind of guy.” He told her, tilting his head down, his nose brushing the tip of hers.

“Hmm. That’s too bad.” Skye whispered, not quite kissing him yet. He jerked his head back in surprise at her words.

“What?”

“Haha, nothing,” She laughed, and he smiled at hearing the sound; she hadn’t laughed since before San Juan. “Do you suppose she’ll be alright with the sofa-bed?” Skye wondered, grasping the lapel of his suit to pull him in again.

He didn’t answer, instead kissed her deeply and slowly, his eyes closed so he could focus on her. Her fingers slipped beneath his coat, pressing warm against his shirt, and he tugged her even closer with a hand at the small of her back. She made a pleased noise, opening her mouth and inviting him to curl his tongue against hers.

He could have sworn they only kissed for a few moments, but then Bobbi was walking in to confirm that she would be the one staying behind, and groaning loudly at their display.

“Jesus, please tell me I won’t be walking in on that every time I turn around.” She complained, but she looked amused.

“Payback for us constantly finding you and Hunter crawling out of the back of the SUV’s.” Skye retorted, making a face, and Bobbi blushed slightly.

“What – _my_ SUV’s?” Coulson wondered, incredulous.

“Well, they’re May’s, now.” Skye reminded him.

“Look, we’re headed out to get supplies for me and for the cabin. Once we leave the perimeter will be set, so nothing can get in or out until we return. We’ll be back in…” Bobbi looked thoughtfully at her watch. “An hour and a half?” She raised her eyebrow at them.

Coulson nodded, Bobbi nodded, and then she left, the door lock automatically engaging as it shut behind her.

Coulson looked back toward Skye, and she grinned and tugged him toward the hall. He followed for a few steps, but hesitated.

“We haven’t… not since you, uh,”

“Afraid it’ll be earth-shattering?” Skye snarked, raising an eyebrow, and he choked. “I figure, it’d be good to practice while we’re alone, so if something does happen…” She trailed off, still leaning her weight back in the direction of the bedroom.

“We could take it slow, be careful.” Coulson reasoned, stepping after her once more. She smiled encouragingly and continued to lead him down the hall.

“Slow is good,” She agreed, leisurely trailing her hand down the front of his shirt, reaching his belt and then tugging him after her by that. He grinned, moving with more purpose.

“You sure?” He checked once they reached the room and he shut the door behind him. “I mean,”

“I want to feel human, Coulson. Phil.” She softened her voice. “We have this weird alien thing we share but you’re the only one who still looks at me like I’m normal. You know more than anyone that I’m not – the others are only going on suspicions right now – but everyone tiptoes around me and act like they aren’t but I can _tell_.”

“They’re worried,” Coulson soothed, stepping toward her as she sat on the edge of the bed. “That’s all,”

“What’s going to happen when they all discover that it was me?” Skye asked fearfully, her eyes wide and tearing up. “The earthquakes, that _I_ was creating them,”

“Skye,” Coulson interrupted softly, kneeling in front of her and taking her face between his hands. “We’re going to figure it out. Learn what it is you can do, learn how to control it. And when we return, we can show them how this doesn’t make you a bad guy – hell, Skye, you could be a superhero.”

Her lips slowly started to curl into a smile as he got carried away, and she let out a watery chuckle.  
 “Good enough to join the Avengers?” She teased, and he looked at her seriously.

“Better than the Avengers.”

She laughed, and pushed at him lightly, making him smile.

“I’m telling Captain Rogers.” She informed him, grasping his wrists. She rubbed her thumb against his skin for a moment, just looking at him. He looked back, patiently, waiting for her to do something.

“I love you.” She told him, watching how his eyes changed with his emotional response to her words. If she had to name a certain color ‘joy’, it would be this, the color of his eyes right in this moment. She turned her head to press a kiss against his palm, the pulled his hand up over her shoulder, wanting him to be closer to her. He slid his hands to her waist as he shuffled closer to the edge of the bed, his shoulders pressing against her knees.

“I love you too.” He whispered, and she lightly scratched her nails through his hair as he rested his cheek against the inside of her knee. “Can I,” He asked, thumbing at the waistband of her pants.

“Yeah,” She said, and she leaned back onto her elbows as he pulled at the button of her jeans.

It didn’t take much, really, for her to feel aroused around him. With hardly any foreplay, he’d tugged off her shoes and her jeans and she found herself breathing faster in anticipation as he pressed a chaste kiss on her thigh.

“Just let me know if you ever feel I need to stop,” He informed her, his eyes on hers for a few moments as he kissed up her leg, gently pulling down her underwear at the same time. She nodded, biting her lip and grasping the sheets next to her when his lips reached the inner curve of her leg. He tossed her underwear to the side as he wrapped his other hand under her thigh, shifting her leg up a little so he had more room.

"Fuck," She breathed out heavily, pressing her head back against the pillow when he moved his mouth over her center.

She would later be embarrassed to admit that he had her moaning incomprehensibly, practically writhing against the sheets, hands pressed against the back of his head as if he needed any more incentive to keep doing _that_ with his tongue...

By the time she caught her breath and her bearings, he was still laying there with his cheek against her knee, looking very smug even with the mussed state of his hair. He also had that puppy-dog-adoration look in his eye again, and she couldn't help but pull him up closer to her and give him a good kiss. She could still taste what she assumed was herself on his tongue, faint, and a little weird, but not wholly unpleasant.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" She teased him, surprised that her voice sounded so worn out. "I should've known you'd be so good at that, what with that tongue of yours," She said as if she were complaining, and he laughed lightly.

"I did enjoy that," He smiled against her throat, kissing her gently there before looking up at her and adding coyly, "didn't you?" She laughed, shoving his shoulder, but not hard enough to move him off of her.

"Well, that was _definitely excellent_ , but, earth-shattering? I don't know," She trailed off, teasing, and he furrowed his brow, rotating his jaw as he thought of his comeback. "Now," She continued before he could speak, "since _I'm_ the one with earthquake powers, perhaps I should try _my_ hand at earth-shattering," and she used her combat skills to flip them over, putting him on his back.

She grinned down at him as she straddled him, pulling off her shirt as she settled down over the bulge in his trousers, rocking her hips a little. He groaned, his hands immediately going to her hips, his own bucking upward to put even more pressure between them. She set her palms against his chest, balancing herself as they moved together for a few moments. She watched his lips part as his eyes were drawn to her breasts, and her triumphant grin eased into a more gentle smile as she stopped moving her hips in favor of sliding down a little so she could get at his belt.

He groaned in complaint, but when she pulled the belt out of the loops with a bit of a rough yank, his groan was decidedly of a different nature. She tossed the belt in the same general direction her underwear had gone, and focused on opening up his trousers and briefs. Her hand was firm but careful as she pulled his cock free, sliding up his shaft, swiping her thumb along the tip, and then sliding back down, all very slowly as she watched his face.

He opened his mouth as she did this multiple times, but didn't say anything, and she dropped her chin slightly, as if she were about to lean over. His expression almost became fearful, and she realized that he was desperately trying not to come, so she instead leaned forward and kissed him on the mouth, removing her hand from his cock. He sighed against her lips, half in relief, and they kissed for a bit as he settled down.

She slid her mouth along his jaw, kissing the sensitive skin just under his ear, lowering her hips now to slide along his cock, trapping it between their bodies. He made a sound that could only be described as a growl, and she shivered, taking no more time before shifting forward enough so that he pushed inside of her.

"Oh, God," He hissed, sounding like he was still very close to the edge, and she moved her body just as slowly as she had moved her hand; far enough that only the tip of his cock was inside her, and then she squeezed her muscles around him and dropped back down. "Oh, _God_ ," He moaned loudly, his hands sliding along her waist.

He proceeded to be quite vocal as she rocked over him, eventually sliding his hands down beneath her butt to help her when she lost her rhythm, encouraging her to keep going with any breath he had when he wasn't making all those _very good_ noises beneath her.

Suffice to say, she was very glad they didn't have any nearby neighbors to hear them, because neither of them held back this time.

And, yeah, if they ever go at it like this in a populated area, she'd better get a better control over her powers.


	34. Chapter 34

"Jesus, what the hell happened? Are you all right?" Bobbi asked from the kitchen, and Coulson and Skye both looked over from where they were sitting on the couch.

"What do you mean?" Coulson asked carefully, raising his eyebrow toward Skye. They'd been sitting and discussing training and research they could do while they were here, and when they thought Simmons would open up to them again about her blood research.

"I'm glad I got some dishes while I was out, because these are goners," Bobbi commented, holding up a dinner plate that had broken in half. Skye and Coulson looked at one another again, and both of them stood and moved toward the island counter. "Most of the plates look broken, and the drinking glasses are shattered. Luckily there were only a couple of those," Bobbi informed them as she checked the rest of the cabinets.

"Oops." Skye commented; Coulson smirked, and Skye blushed. Bobbi sighed heavily.

"I'm not going to ask. But I _am_ going to say that the two of you can clean this up, while I work on dinner." Bobbi shook her head, moving toward the stove and giving them some space to do as she asked. "Jesus," She muttered under her breath, and Skye snorted.

"Sorry," Skye apologized, "In my defense, Coulson - "

"I _really_ don't want to know." Bobbi interrupted quickly. "As long as you didn't lose control spontaneously, and hurt yourself again, it's fine. They're just dishes, and I bought a little of everything while I was out because I didn't know if there were any in here to begin with. It's fine."

"Thank you, Bobbi," Coulson said. "Need any help with dinner?" He offered, and she relaxed and smiled at him.

"I'd love some." She gestured her head toward the sink. "There's a brush and dustpan under the sink there. Help me once you're done helping Skye, since apparently at least _half of this_ is your fault."

Skye grinned cheekily at Coulson, stepping to the side so he could fit next to her in front of the trashed cabinet.

**\-----**

Over the next few weeks, Coulson and Bobbi worked with Skye to attempt to figure out what was causing her to use her powers, and if she could wrangle any kind of control over it. Bobbi and Skye also kept up with their SHIELD training as well, though Coulson never joined them. He preferred to run the perimeter by himself, occasionally on the hotter days going for a swim as well, which Daisy always enjoyed observing, much to the chagrin of Bobbi.

Coulson, surprisingly, didn't have any more carving episodes. Although Bobbi kept bringing up the fact that Skye had powers and he didn't, the other half of his mind was silent on the matter. They eventually revealed to Bobbi about their shared "visions", but her only response was to frown and mutter - lovingly - that they were a couple of freaks.

Her teammate's argument always fresh in her mind, regardless of how supportive some of them have been since, Skye worked hard to suppress her powers. It didn't necessarily feel _right_ , and she imagined that was Mar-Vell in her brain sharing his displeasure, but he hadn't "spoken" actual words to her since before the transfusion.

Coulson spent a lot of time on the phone with May, most often when Bobbi and Skye were distracted either sparring or exploring the surrounding area together. Skye could always tell when he'd been talking to her, though, because his frown lines would be deeper and he would have that "Director Face" expression again. He never went into detail with them, though, only mentioned "Hydra" with a terse tone, and they knew better than to question him further on the subject.

Bobbi eventually got called back to base, but both Coulson and Skye felt fairly confident by themselves now; for nine straight days Skye hadn't caused anything more than a slight rumbling.

"Try not to tear the place apart," were Bobbi's wry parting words, knowing that they'd done their best to keep their hands off of one another while she was around. Skye laughed, and Coulson frowned a little, but they both expressed warm goodbyes as they saw her off.

That evening, while they were washing up the dishes after dinner, Skye tried to broach the Hydra subject with Coulson.

"Was she called back because of our Nazi problem?" Skye asked, catching from the corner of her eye as he pursed his lips. He answered her, though, which surprised her a little.

"Yes." She waited for him to explain further, but he didn't.

"Why all the secrecy?" Skye wondered, setting down the plate she'd been scrubbing and turning to face him. "I haven't officially been told so I'd like to know; am I no longer an Agent? Do I not have classified access anymore?"

"Skye, don't take this personally," Coulson replied shortly, eyes on the glass he was drying, "The Director has secrets for a reason."

"I thought we got rid of levels." Skye retorted, folding her arms across her chest. "And don't make this out like I'm personally offended - I don't expect to know everything you know just because we're basically alien-husband-and-wife. But if there's something going on, especially with Hyrdra, is that not a big enough problem of SHIELD's for the Agents to know?"

Coulson turned to her, mouth opening and closing for a second as he figured out what he wanted to say first.

"No, we don't have Levels anymore, and that's not what I meant to - there are things I know and decisions I have to make because I am the head of an organization that is threatening to fall apart at what little seams we've put back together." His tone started to sound a little desperate the more he spoke, and Skye relaxed her stance, realizing that whatever these conversations he'd been having with May, it was putting more stress on him than he had allowed her or Bobbi to see. He rather suddenly set the glass and towel on the counter, and reached over to turn off the water. "Come sit with me. I was going to explain everything tomorrow, but might as well tonight." He sighed, and she watched, perplexed, as he disappeared down the hallway.

She dried her hands on her jeans and went over to the couch, sitting on the edge when he returned with a laptop in hand.

"Trip and Hunter had, on a routine scouting mission, discovered a high-level Hydra research facility," Coulson began, sitting next to her and opening the laptop.

"How high-level?" Skye wondered with interest. After the Raina-and-obelisks debacle, things had gone eerily quiet on the Hydra front for a while. It was like all of the roaches had scurried back into the shadows just as quickly as they'd shown themselves.

"We're not sure exactly, but fairly high. Bakshi has been a confirmed, and frequent, sighting." Coulson replied, and she widened her eyes in surprise.

"Has he replaced Whitehall?" Skye wondered, and Coulson shook his head slowly as he brought up something on the laptop.

"I don't think so, and that's what scares me. There's someone else at play here, someone far more important in Hydra's world. I don't know who, yet. He's very good at hiding his tracks."

"Or she." Skye reasoned, and he raised his eyebrow at her.

"Or she," He agreed. "Anyhow, we weren't sure what was going on inside this facility, and none of our tech could get passed their security,"

"You haven't asked me, yet," Skye pointed out with mild surprise - it wasn't like she'd suddenly lost all of her hacking abilities. Coulson looked apologetic.

"I didn't want to over stress you," he admitted, "what with figuring out your powers, and controlling them..."

"That should be my choice to make." Skye admonished very gently, and Coulson nodded.

"Well, I'm sorry for being an overprotective alien-husband." He said, and she smiled. Moving on, Coulson explained that he, May, and Simmons decided to discretely send Simmons in undercover, as a 'disgruntled SHIELD agent'.

" _What_?" Skye exclaimed. "We all know how Simmons is undercover!"

"Before you start freaking out on me, trust me, she went through the ringer, training with May. Plus, she doesn't have to lie about being a SHIELD agent, which we all imagined would've been the hardest part for her. Hydra came out of SHIELD, and we already know that some SHIELD agents followed suit."

Skye relaxed, marginally.

"How is she doing? How long has she been gone? Has she figured anything out?" Skye demanded, even more questions rolling around in her head.

"I'm getting there," Coulson eased, turning the laptop slightly so Skye could see the case file that he'd opened. "We now know for a fact that Hydra managed to get their hands on more than one obelisk, and they've been testing them."

"Oh my God." Skye whispered, leaning in and covering her mouth with her hand as she read the list of names of their test subjects who had died.

"To no success, yet, but Simmons' last drop was not encouraging. She says they recently brought someone in, and suddenly the entire atmosphere of the building changed. She's worried they may have found a successful subject."

"Someone who touched the obelisk and survived?" Skye wondered. "But how? They found a Kree?"

"No, not a Kree," Coulson corrected, but hesitated. "At least, not _fully_ Kree. Skye...you remember the TAHITI project was tested on multiple subjects before I resigned?"

"Oh my God, they found someone like you and me?" Skye gasped. "And the Kree blood kept them from turning into stone - Jesus, what if _we_ touched it, would we survive?"

"And what does it do to those who can touch it? Does it do anything at all?" Coulson asked rhetorically, frustrated. "This is why I need to have Simmons continue her mission, and why very few people know exactly where she is or what she's doing."

"So...she's in there completely on her own." Skye realized, equally terrified and impressed. Coulson nodded stiffly, and if Skye had been paying closer attention to him she would have realized he was hiding something, but she was already thinking ahead. "Do you think there's any way I can set up a secure line so she doesn't have to do the dead drops anymore?"

"I was considering that idea," Coulson nodded, "Which was why I was going to tell you all of this tomorrow."

"Would you have hid it from me, if you didn't need the secure line?" Skye wondered, and Coulson blinked at her.

"I don't know." He admitted truthfully. "It depends on how close Simmons gets on this. The more people that know, the more likely her cover will be blown,"

"I know, Coulson, I get it." Skye picked at a loose string on the couch, and then rested her hand on his leg. "I'm sorry. I did take it personally, a little bit, and I shouldn't have. Some secrets _are_ important, I get that."

"Trust the system?" Coulson quoted carefully, teasing her, and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not saying I trust the system - but I trust _you_." She corrected, and he smiled, then leaned forward to kiss her for a long beat.

"Why don't you start working on that communication system tomorrow morning? It's getting late." Coulson suggested, and Skye nodded.

They'd changed for bed and were lying in the dark for ten or so minutes when Skye spoke again, her brain still working a mile a minute.

"What about the blood research? I mean, I know Hydra is more important, and there are definitely more lives at risk so that _should_ be high priority - but, I mean, is anybody paying attention to your blood? How you're going to react to the transfusion?"

"You're so sure I am going to have a reaction?" Coulson asked, and she heard him turn onto his side to face her. He sounded almost sad, like he was disappointed.

"Just because you haven't yet doesn't mean you won't." Skye reasoned, rolling on her side to face him as well. "Then we could be a superhero couple."

"I don't know, I kind of like being your human sidekick," Coulson grinned, brushing her hair away from her cheek. She laughed, cuddling against him, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I do like that picture. The superhero and the spy. I could have a cape, and you'd have your ties."

"I don't know, capes could be pretty dangerous,"

"Thought about a costume for me, have you?" Skye teased, and she felt him grow warm with embarrassment, and she laughed harder.

"Go to sleep," He grumbled, and she pressed a smiling kiss to his chin before tucking her head against his chest.


End file.
